20 CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS, 
Suborder 14. HALCYONES, 
The Kingfishers and their allies may be diagnosed in various ways :— 
A. Palate desmognathous. B. Hallux always present, and connected with the flexor 
perforans digitorum. ©. Spinal feather-tract well defined on neck, and not 
forked on the back. D. Basipterygoid processes absent. 












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The Halcyones consist of four families : — 
Colitde.—The Colies are the most aberrant group, and differ from the other three in 
two important points. The feet are not syndactylous, and there are no bare tracts 
on the breast (Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1876, p. 419). 
Alcedinide.—The Kingfishers agree with the Colies in haying a tufted oil-gland and no 
ceca; but they differ from them, and agree with the Todies and Motmots, in haying 
syndactyle feet, and in having the ventral feather-tract not only split in the centre, 
but also on each side of the breast by bare tracts. The Kingfishers differ from the 
other three families in having no accessory semitendinosus. 
Momotide.—The Motmots agree with the Kingfishers and the Colies in having no cxea, 
but the tuft of the oil-gland is either absent or very small. The Motmots further 
differ from the other three families in haying the two notches on each side of the 
posterior margin of the sternum closed into foramina instead of being open. 
Todide.—The Todies differ in both these particulars from the Motmots. They have 
large cseca, and well-developed tufts to the oil-gland (Forbes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1882, 
p. 448). 
