ALCEDINID^J CEEYLE 77 



ing a series of transverse bars ; a spot in front of the eye, a line 

 of feathers from the base of the lower mandible, and the throat all 

 white, rest of the side of the face and a line of spots on either side 

 of the throat black ; lower throat and breast rich rufous, abdomen 

 and under tail-coverts white, spotted with black blotches, the spots 

 almost forming bands on the flanks ; axillaries and under wing- 

 coverts white with a few black spots. 



Iris very dark brown ; bill black ; legs and feet dark olive- 

 brown. 



Length about 17-0; wing 7-60 ; tail 4-80; culmen 3-30; 

 tarsus 0*45. 



In the female the upper part of the breast, which is rufous in 

 the male, is white, profusely spotted with ashy so as to almost form 

 a chest band ; the lower breast, abdomen, axillaries under wing- and 

 tail-coverts are rufous ; the size is about the same. A young bird, 

 probably a male, has a black band across the chest, the feathers of 

 which are edged with pale rufous, the rest of the under surface 

 white with a few rufous feathers, especially on the flanks. 



Distribution. The Giant Kingfisher is spread over the whole of 

 Africa, from the Gambia and the White Nile, southwards, except 

 in the forest region of the Congo and Gaboon, where it is replaced 

 by a closely-allied species or geographical race. In South Africa, 

 though widely distributed, it nowhere seems to be common. The 

 following are localities: Cape Colony Cape, Stellenbosch, Ceres, 

 Worcester, Caledon, Bredasdorp, Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Graaff 

 Eeinet, Port Elizabeth, East London and Pondoland divisions ; 

 Natal Umgeni River, near Durban (Reid), Pinetown (Stark), St. 

 Lucia Lake, in Zululand (Woodward) ; Oraugs River Colony 

 Kroonstad (Symonds) ; Transvaal Lydenburg district (Francis, in 

 S. A. Mus.), Zoutspansberg district (W. Ayres), Rustenburg and 

 Potchefstroom (T. Ayres) ; Rhodesia Matangwe river near Bula- 

 wayo, Chobe river (Holub), Umfuli river (Marshall); German south- 

 west Africa Okavango river (Andersson) ; Portuguese east Africa- 

 Zambesi river (Kirk and Alexander). 



Habits. This, the largest of African Kingfishers, is found along 

 rivers and even on the sea-beach, but is nowhere numerous and 

 is always somewhat shy and wary. Layard states that it is 

 migratory in the Colony ; if this is so its migrations can only be of 

 small extent, as it has been obtained in the south-western districts 

 in nearly all the months of the year, and it is also a resident in 

 Natal. 



