from British Central Africa. 173 



wing-coverts edged with buff, giving them a regular scaled 

 appearance. Total length 10"2 inches ; culmen 0"4; wing 7'9; 

 tail; outer feathers 3'5, centre feathers 2'4 ; tarsus 0*6. 



78. Halcyon hyacinthinus Reichen. 



Halcyon hyacinthinus Reichen. J. f. O. 1900, p. 216. 



In 1896, when I published my list of African birds, I 

 recognised only two species belonging to this group, H. semi- 

 ceeruleus Forskal and H. pallidiveniris Cab. The latter 

 name cannot rightly supplant that of H. swainsoni Smith, 

 S. Afr. Quart. Journ. 1831', vol. ii. p. 143, which certainly 

 refers to the pale form that inhabits the Cape Colony 

 district, but is very indifferently described. 



If we recognise C. erythrorhynchus Gould from the Cape 

 Verde Islands as a subspecies of H. semicaruleus , we should 

 be equally bound to regard H. hyacinthinus Reichen. as a 

 subspecies of H. swainsoni, extending over the north-eastern 

 range of that species northward from Mashonaland. The 

 sole characters I can find for these subspecies may be 

 summed up in the following key : — 



a. Abdomen and under wing-coverts deep chest- 



nut semicaritleus. 



a}. Average size of bill slightly smaller ; head 



and neck paler Subsp. erythrorhynchus. 



i'. Average size of bill slightly larger; head 



and neck darker Subsp. semiccBruleus. 



b. Abdomen and under wing-coverts orange-buff . swainsoni. 

 c*. Above darker ; mantle nearly jet-black ; a 



rather deeper shade on the glossy blue 



parts Subsp. hyacinthinus. 



d}. Above paler, especially the scapulars Subsp. sivainsoni. 



In the British Museum there are — (^ , 19.12.84 Salisbury, 

 and a good series from the Zambesi and Nyasa district 

 belonging to H. swaitisoni hyacinthinus: while ?, 21.9.83 

 Potehefstruom ; ? ? Gurnah (Gates) ; ? , 22.12.65 Ondonga; 

 and one of Monteiro's specimens from Benguela, belong 

 to typical H. swainsoni. One of Jameson^s specimens, 

 labelled '' Umvuli R., $ , 2.10.80,'^ is intermediate between 

 these two subspecies. 



