112 Mr. P. C. Mitchell on the 



GarrofI offers important difTcrcncps. It is present but feeble 

 in I) actio, Ceryle maxima and C. alci;on, and in tlie species 

 of Sauropalis — that is to say, in all the diastataxic forms. 

 It is also present in Hafci/un rvfa, a eutaxic form, but is 

 absent in H. pileata, Ceryle inda and C. nmer'icana, the two 

 species of Cittura, the Alcedines, and Ceyx rufidnrsa — that 

 is to say, in all but one of the eutaxic forms^ an obviously 

 secondary condition. 



Musculature of Forearm v^nd Hand. — In this series of 

 muscles the only case of striking difierence occurs in the 

 €a.ttns(jr indicis Icn/jus. In Dacelo this arises from the 

 middle half of the radius on its ulnar face, and is inserted 

 to the phalanges of the second digit. The short head from 

 the distal end of the radius, present in some birds, is absent. 

 In all the diastataxic forms tlie mu?cle is like that in Dacelo ; 

 in all the eutaxic forms its origin has a longer extension, 

 occupying about the middle two-thirds of the radius, and 

 otherwise is relatively stronger. 



Musculature of the Thigh and Leg. — Kingfishers are 

 birds in which flight is the most important mode of progres- 

 sion, and in which the hind limbs play a relatively smaller 

 part in the activities of life. rrol)ably, in relation to this, the 

 wings and shoulder-girdle tend to increase in relative size 

 and strength, while the pelvis and legs tend to diminish in 

 size. This double tendency is plain in all, but reaches a 

 maximum in eutaxic forms, such as the species of Alcedo and 

 Ceyx. The changes are plain both in the skeleton and in the 

 soft parts. 



Ilio-tibialis externus sen sartorius. — In Dacelo the origin 

 is tendinous from the supra-iliac crest, with a forward 

 extension to the second last dorsal vertebra. From this the 

 muscle runs with a narrow belly to the tendinous insertion 

 in the knee-capsule. The relations are similar in Ceryle 

 maxima-, in C. alcyon the belly is rather broader^ while in 

 the eutaxic Cerylce the increase in breadth is enormous. 

 Tlie species of Sauropalis resemble Dacelo and the diastataxic 

 Ccryles. In the Halcyones, Citturce, and Ceyx the belly is 

 also narrow, but in the Alcedines it is very broad. There is 



