624 PKOCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [1885. 



Length skiu, 17^ iuches; wiug, 8; tail, 5|; bill, 3. 



The type of the female is in the National Museum, Washington, to 

 which it was sent from Guadeloupe by Mr. L. Guesde. 



Remarl's. — I hav^e for comparison two males aud four females of C. 

 torqiiata. The male of the new species differs from the same sex of 

 torquata in the upper plumage being rather duller in color, and strik- 

 ingly so in having the feathers of the back and wings barred with white 

 seen on the back by raising them, whereas in C. torquata these feathers 

 are immaculate ; the quills are of a deeper black and have their outer 

 webs conspicuously spotted with white, whereas in torquata they are 

 unspotted ; the cinnamon color below is rather darker than in the other 

 species, and the lower i^art of the abdomen and nnder tail-coverts are 

 closely spotted and barred with ashy-blue; in one of the males of torquata 

 there are a few spots on the lower abdomen aud under tail-coverts ; 

 the other has these parts pure white ; the new species has the under 

 wing-coverts white, blotched with cinnamon, those of torquata being 

 pure white; the wings are longer than in torquata. 



The female differs from that sex of C. torquata in having the outer 

 webs of the quill feathers spotted with white, and in the upper plumage 

 and wings being conspicuously spotted with white, and in having the 

 under i^lumage darker in color ; in one specimen of C. torquata there are 

 no spots; in the other three there are concealed spots of white on the back, 

 and in one of them from Jalapa, Mexico, there are a few spots showing on 

 the wings, and this specimen has white spots on the outer web of the 

 first primary, the outer webs of the quill feathers in the other three are 

 without sx)ots; the bluish band across the breast is freckled with minute 

 spots of white; this character is seen only in the Jalapa specimen, but 

 in a much less degree; this specimen, however, has not the general 

 spotted appearance of the new species ; the white bands on the central 

 tail feathers are more strongly marked than in 0. torquata. 



For a long time 1 have been very desirous to see the large kingfisher 

 from Guadeloupe, which had been known there as " Ceryle torquata " 

 from specimens in the museum at Pointe a Pitre. It was not obtained 

 by Mr. Ober, and is given in his catalogue from these specimens. I 

 thought from its isolated position (none being recorded from any other 

 island of the West Indies or found nearer than Central or South Amer- 

 ica) that it might differ from G. torquata. Last summer I was gratified 

 by receiving a specimen of the male from Dr. Colardeau. On a com- 

 parison with numerous specimens of C. torquata, I came to the conclu- 

 sion that it was a distinct species. I requested Mr. Eidgway to lend me 

 the specimens of C. torquata in the National Museum ; he kindly sent 

 three specimens so labeled, all females ; fortunately one of them was 

 from Guadeloupe, thus giving me the opportunity to examine both 

 sexes. 



Dr. Colardeau wrote me : "I have a fine skin of Ceryle torquata for 

 you. It was shot by my son in a large mountain stream crossing the 



