ON THE CRESTED KINGFISHERS OF AFRICA. 187 
Corthornis nats is nothing more than the young of C. caruleo- 
cephala, and J. nitida is the young of J. natalensis, as will be seen 
in the account of that species. I beg leave to draw the attention 
of the Philadelphia Academy to this interesting question. 
Dr. Dohrn (/.c.) informs us that in Prince’s Island the Cory- 
thornis ceruleocephala is common on theshore; ina few instances I 
saw single specimens flying about in the interior of the island. 
Thecolour ofthe young bird islittle different from that of old speci- 
mens ; the billis black, and the white spots on the throat and on 
the sides of the neck are very small. This species is as lively as 
Halcyon dryas is indolent. The natiue name is ‘ Pica-peixe.” 
I am indebted to Mr. Keulemans for the following note on the 
habits of this hitherto little-known Kingfisher, as observed by 
him during his residence in the Princes’ Island. ‘* Corythornis 
c@ruleocephala is a common bird near the sea-shore, and in the 
large river near the town of St. Antonio. It is very different 
in its habits from Halcyon dryas, being altogether a much more 
lively bird. Its food consists of fishes and water-insects. It 
breeds between the months of August and January. The eggs 
are five in number, white, almost round, and very glossy. They 
are deposited in holes or in clefts of rock, but I do not know if 
they make any nest. When not disturbed this little Kingfisher 
becomes very tame, and is particularly fond of frequenting the 
places where the native women are engaged in washing clothes, 
I suspect that the water being thus disturbed causes the aquatic 
insects to come to the surface, when they are eagerly pounced 
upon by the bird, which may be seen plunging into the water 
every minute. Tho natives call it ‘‘ Pica-peixe” which signifies 
fish catcher.” 
The description and measurements are taken from a very fine 
male birdin my collection from Loanda. The largest figure in 
the plate isa copy of a painting made by Mr. Keulemans in 
Princes’ Island from a recently killed specimen, while the smaller 
figure represents a younger bird. 
