556 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant on the 



56. Alcyone nigrirostris. 



Ceijx nigrirostris, Bourns & Worcester^ Occ. Pap. Minne- 

 sota Acad. Sci. i. no. i. p. 13 (1894). 



We have an adult female of this beautiful little Black-billed 

 Blue-belted Kingfisber, which, as Messrs. Bourns and Wor- 

 cester have pointed out in their description, is most nearly- 

 allied to A. cyanipectus, but may be readily recognized by the 

 entirely black bill and deep orange-buff breast and belly. 



57. Halcyon gularis, Kuhl. ; Grant, Ibis, 1895, p. 465. 

 The White-throated Kingfisher is represented by a fine 



adult male. 



58. Halcyon winchelli, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xvii. 

 p. 255 (1892). 



Halcyon alfredi, Oustalet, Le Nat. 1890, p. 62. 



A male of the beautiful WinchelFs Kingfisher, shot in the 

 month of March, is in worn plumage, and the cheeks and 

 sides of the face are black, almost entirely devoid of the 

 purplish blue which is characteristic of birds from Southern 

 Mindanao, Basilan, and Tawi Tawi. As Prof. Steere observes, 

 the sexes differ one from another, and the male, which has 

 the imderparts pure white, has been described as a distinct 

 species by Dr. Oustalet under the name of H. alfredi. 



The figure of the female type [cf. Trans. Linn. Soc. (2) i. 

 p. 318, pi. 47 (1876)] is somewhat misleading. The strongly- 

 marked cobalt band encircling the crown, with which it is in 

 strong contrast, is very inaccurately represented ; the collar 

 round the back of the neck is chestnut, like the spot in front 

 of the eye, not buff; while the white belly is not indicated. 



59. Halcyon chloris (Bodd.) ; Grant, Ibis, 1895, p. 261. 

 Sauropatis chloris, Blanford, Faun. Brit, lud.. Birds, iii. 



p. 135 (1895). 



Mr. Whitehead sends a male and two females of" the White- 

 collared Kingfisher; the male has green ear-coverts and 

 scarcely any trace of a black band bordering the crown, and 

 agrees perfectly with the subspecies H. armstrongi, Sharpe. 

 One female has the ear-coverts black, largely mixed with 



