130 ALCEDINID^. 



N. H. Soc. i, pp. 82, 197 ; Oates in Hume's N. ^ E. 2r]d ed. iii, 



p. 11; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xvii, p. 101. 

 Pelargopsis burmanica, Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 67 ; id. Mon. Ale. 



p. 109, pi. 35 ; Boll, J. A. S. B. xli, pt. 2, p. 277 ; id. S. F. i, p. 67 ; 

 Walden, Ibis, 1874, p. 136 ; Hume, S. F. ii, p. 165 ; iii, p. 50; id. 

 Cat. no. 127 lis; Blyth 6r Wald. Birds Burm. p. 70; Biyigham, 

 S. F. V, p. 83 : ix, p. 154 ; Hume ^ Dav. S. F. vi, p. 73 ; Oates, 

 B. B. ii, p. 78 ; id. in Humes N. ^ E. 2ud ed. iii, p. 12 ; Sharpe, 

 Cat. B. M. xvii, p. 104. 



The Brown-headed Kingjisher, Jerdon : Gurial Beng. ; Badami Kow- 

 rilla, H. (Oude); Maha pelihudinca, Waturanmca, Ciug. ; H sin-pa y- 

 nyin, Burin. 



Fig. 36.— Head of P. yurial, |. 



Coloration. Crown, nape, and sides of head, including the 

 cheeks and ear-coverts, brown, varying in shade from dark brown 

 to (in some Burmese birds) whity-brown ; neck all round and 

 lower parts, including wing-lining, varying from buff to deep 

 brownish yellow, usually deeper on the breast and abdomen ; upper 

 back, scapulars, wings, longer tail-coverts, and tail dull greenish 

 blue ; quills and tail bluer ; primaries except outer webs towards 

 the base, inner webs of secondaries, and lower surface of tail 

 brown ; back, rump, and shorter tail-coverts bright pale blue. 



In young birds the buff feathers of the neck and breast have 

 dark edges ; the end of the bill, too, is dusky. 



Bill dark blood-red ; irides light brown ; legs dull scarlet 

 (Jerdon). Eyelids pinkish fleshy, the edges red (Oates). 



Length about 15 ; tail 4 ; win'g 6 ; tarsus -75 ; bill from gape 3-8. 



The Burmese race has been distinguished as P. burmanica. Very- 

 many Burmese specimens have pale whity-brown caps and dark 

 ocbraceous lower parts, but birds in abundance occur throughout 

 Burma that are absolutely undistinguishable from many Indian 

 individuals. Very dark-headed birds are peculiar to India (the 

 darkest are from "the Malabar coast), but they are not a majority. 

 The two races are not, I think, sufficiently distinct to be classed 

 apart. 



Distrihution. Along rivers and streams and about large pieces 

 of water in well-wooded countries almost throughout the Empire. 



