Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the Kingfishers of South Africa. 281 



Mr. Gould's specimen from the White Nile has no tail and 

 no tip to its beak, so that I have been obliged to measure it as 

 best I could. In the measurements given in the present paper, 

 I should state that all the birds are in skin, and also that the 

 claw is not included in the length of the middle toe. 



107. Alcedo quadribrachys, Bonap. Consp. Av. i. p. 158. 

 This beautiful Kingfisher was named quadribrachys in contrast 



to the Alcyone azurea {A. trihrachys, Shaw) of Australia, to 

 which it bears at first sight some resemblance. The African 

 bird, however, may at once be distinguished by its rich cobalt- 

 blue back and by its having four toes, whereas Alcyone azurea 

 has only three, and the back is of a uniform azure. To my 

 mind, however, the African species bears a close affinity to the 

 Malayan ^/cecfo asiatica of Swainson {A.menintingoi Horsfield), 

 and in an arrangement of the genus Alcedo these two species 

 must be placed in close proximity. The shorter beak and more 

 distinct cobalt-blue bars on the head are some of the characters 

 that separate A. asiatica from A. quadribrachys. 



108. Alcedo natalensis, A. Smith, S. Afr. Q. Journ. no. v. 

 p. 14. 



This is an Ispidina, and distinct from the /. picta of "West 

 Africa and Abyssinia, from which it may at once be distin- 

 guished by a bright blue spot on the side of the neck. Other 

 difi'erences are its slightly shorter and broader bill, and the 

 extremely rich ultramarine of the back. Synonyms of /. nata- 

 lensis are /. 7iitida of Kaup and Alcedo picturata of Schlegel. I 

 have examined the type-specimen of Dr. Kaup's /. nitida. 



