386 CORACIIFORMES chap. 



abdomen ; the upper parts are black, with azure lower back, 

 tail and wing-quills, the bill is red. H. saurophagus of Papuasia 

 and the Moluccas is blue, with white head and under surface, and 

 black bill. H. nigrocyaneus of the former region is black and 

 blue, wdth white throat, pectoral band and dorsal markings, the 

 bill being black. The female is whiter below. H. lindsayi has 

 dingy green upper parts with buff spots, and a black eye-stripe 

 surmounted by an azure band, both of wdiich extend round the 

 back of the head ; the neck and throat are cinnamon divided by 

 a blue stripe, the under parts white mottled with green ; the bill 

 is black. The blue parts are green in the female. 



Dacelo gigas, the " Laughing Jackass " or " Settlers' Clock " 

 of Australia, is mainly brown above with a white stripe on 

 each side of the head ; the tail is rufous and black, the rump 

 of the same colour in the female, greenish -blue in the male ; 

 the lower surface is dirty white, the bill blackish. Clytoceyx 

 rex of New Guinea has an immensely thick, blunt, and rather short 

 bill ; it is brown above, with a rufous collar, blackish back and 

 neck -stripes, light azure rump, greenish tail and wing-quills ; 

 below it is light chestnut with white throat. Carcineutes pul- 

 chellus of the Malay countries, Sumatra, and Java has the fore- 

 head, cheeks, and collar chestnut, the crown azure, the upper 

 parts black with blue and white bands, the under parts rufous 

 with white throat, the bill red. The female is rufous with black 

 bars above, and white with black spotting below. Syma torotoro 

 of Papuasia is greenish, with blue tail and rump, orange-rufous 

 head and under parts, and a black collar. The crown is black 

 in the female. The serrated bill is yellow. The genera Isjndina 

 and Ceyx furnish the pygmies of the Family, varying from about 

 four to six inches in length ; the coloration in the former is 

 usually blue and black above and chestnut below, with a red bill ; 

 but /. madagascariensis of Madagascar is entirely rufous, except 

 for some white on the neck and lower surface. C. euerythra, of 

 the Malay countries and the Philippines, which is red with a 

 lilac tinge above, has several similar congeners ; here again, how- 

 ever, blue, black, and orange are not uncommon hues. 



Sub-fam. 2. Alcedininae. Alcyone azurea of Australia has 

 dark azure-blue upper parts, reddish-orange lower surface with 

 lighter throat, and a whitish patch on the sides of the neck. 

 Corythornis C7'istata is ultramarine with light chestnut under 



