ITY 



GREY-HEADED SENEGAL KINGHUNTER. 



Halcyon Senegalensis, SWAINS. 



Head, ears, and middle of the breast, cinereous-grey; lack, 

 tail, and middle of the wings, blue ; wing-covers and ends 

 of the quills, black ; upper mandible, red ; lower one, with 

 the feet, black ; eyebrows, white. 



Ispida Senegalensis major, Brisson, Orn. iv. 494. M&rtin-pe- 

 cheur a tete gris, Buff. ed. Sonn. xx. 233 ; Pi. Enl. 594 

 Alcedo Senegalensis, LinncBtts. 



TOE Kinghunters have such a close resemblance to 

 the kingfishers, that it is only of late years, since 

 their habits and structure have been better known, 

 that they have been separated. The first, which we 

 characterised many years ago as the genus Halcyon, 

 have the bill very broad, in some species even de- 

 pressed ; and instead of living upon fish, they seem 

 to frequent forests for the sake of capturing small 

 reptiles and insects. Of these we have no species 

 in Europe, although they are all confined to the 

 limits of the Old World. The true kingfishers, to 

 which we still retain the name of Alcedo, have the 

 bill very narrow and compressed on the sides ; the 

 feet are much weaker, and they feed only upon fish. 

 We have adopted the vernacular name of Kinghunter 

 from the French, who call the birds we are about to 

 describe by the name of Martin-chasseurs. 



The Senegal Grey-headed Kinghunter was first 



G 



