54 GIANT KINGFISHER. 



scription is well detailed by Dr. Latham. " The 

 bill, says that author, is very large, strong, thick 

 at the base, bent at the end, and three inches and 

 a quarter long; the upper mandible black, the 

 under white, with the base only black: the fea- 

 thers of the head are elongated, sufficient to form 

 a moderate crest: the feathers are narrow and 

 brown, streaked with paler bro\vn: sides of the 

 head, above the eye, and bind part of the head, 

 dirty white, with a mixture of dusky: beneath the 

 eyes, and sides of the neck deep brown: upper 

 part of the back, and wings olive brown; the 

 lower part and rump fine pale blue-green: on the 

 middle of the wing-coverts a large patch of glossy 

 pale blue-green: outer edges of the quills blue; 

 within, and the tips black; the base of some of 

 them white, forming a spot: tail five inches and a 

 half long, rounded at the end, barred ferruginous 

 and steel-black, with a gloss of purple; the end, 

 for one inch, white: the under parts of the body 

 dirty white, transversely streaked with narrow 

 dusky lines : legs yellow ; claws black." The 

 female is of a browner cast than the male; has 

 scarcely any appearance of a crest, and has less 

 of the blue-green gloss on the middle of the 

 wings, &c. 



This species is a native of New Guinea, New 

 Holland, and several of the smaller islands of the 

 Southern Pacific. In New Holland it is said to 

 be known by the name of Googo-ne-gang, or the 

 laughing Jack-ass, from its singular note, which 

 the natives compare with the braying of the 



