HALCYON. 1^^ 



screaming cry, almost always uttered during flight. It breeds 

 from March to July, laying 4 to 7 white rounded eggs ma 

 chamber at the end of the usual burrow, which is generally made 

 in the bank of a stream or tank, sometimes m a well, or on a 

 cliff. In Cachar, however, Mr. E. C. Steuart Baker has described 

 this bird as building a roughly constructed nest oi moss amongst 

 rocks or large stones. The eggs measure on an average fid 

 by 1-03. 



1045. Halcyon pileata. The Blad--capped Kingfisher. 



Alcedo pileata, BocM. Tahl. PI. Enl. p. 41 (1783) 

 Alcedo atricapilla, Gm. Si/st. Nat. i, p. 453 (1'88). 



Hu77ie, S. F. ii, p. 1(38 ; iv, p. 287. ^ , ^^ „ v v w 



Halcyon pileata, Sharpe, Man. Ale. p. 169, pi. 62 ; Hume, S. I.n, 

 p. 470; xi, p. 45; id. Cat. no. 130; Annstr. S. F. iV' P- -^O^ 

 mth If Wald. Birds Burm. p. 70; Wardl.-Rams Ibis \^7, 

 p. 456 iGodw.-Aust. J. A. S. B. xlvii, pt. 2, p 14 -Hume 8f Ba^ 

 S. F vi, pp. 74, 499; Lec/ge, Birds Ceyl. ^ 301; ^"'^^".'f' '^.f: 

 viii, p. 193 ; ix, p. 154 ; Tidal, S. F ix, p. 49 ; Oates,B. B.n,^. 8o , 

 Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 100 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xvu, p. 229. 

 The Black-capped Purple Kingfisher, Jerdon. 



Fig. 37.— Head of H. pileata, |. 



Cohration. Crown, nape, and sides of head black a few while 

 feathers below the eye ; a broad white or buff collar round the 

 neck, followed by a blackish band; scapulars, back, rump, upper 

 tail-coverts, upper surface of tail, outer webs of secondaries and 

 tertiaries outside, and greater primary-coverts deep blue, brighter 

 on the lower back and rump; remainder of upper wmg-covert. 

 black ; primary-quills black at the tips, the fii^t primaries for hat 

 their ength, the inner primaries for less, basal portion white with 

 the outer web pale lilac, a little of the outer web beyond the lilac 

 part blue, secondaries black except on the dorsal surface of the 

 outer web outside : chin, throat, and micd e of breast white ; sides 

 of throat and breast and remainder of lower surface, with the 

 wing-lining, ferruginous buff ; tail black beneath. 



In young birds and in many females the breast-feathers have 

 dark borders, and there are black spots on the sides of the throat. 



