80 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 



Subfamily DACELONINJE. 



Genus CEYX, Lacep. 



469. CEYX TRIDACTYLA. 



THE THREE-TOED KINGFISHER. 



Alcedo tridactyla, Pall. Spic. Zool. vi. p. 10, t. ii. fig. 1. Ceyx tridactyla, Jerd. 

 B. Ind. i. p. 229; Sharpe, Mon. Aked. p. 119, pi. 40; Hume, S. F. iii. p. 51; 

 Bl. B. Burm. p. 71 ; Legge, Birds Ceylon, p. 303; Hume 8f Dav. S. F. vi. p. 80; 

 Hume, S. F. viii. p. 86 ; Bingham, S. F. viii. p. 193, ix. p. 155 ; Parker, S. F. ix. 

 p. 478 ; Oates, S. F. x. 187. 



Description. Male and female. The lores and the feathers immediately 

 round the base of upper mandible black, tinged with blue ; forehead, crown 

 and nape chestnut, the portion over the eye and ear-coverts glossed with 

 lilac; chin and throat white; cheeks, ear-coverts and the whole lower 

 plumage buffy yellow, tinged with rufous across the breast ; a spot behind 

 the ear-coverts bluish black ; below this another patch of white ; back 

 black, the lower feathers tipped with shining blue ; scapulars and lesser 

 wing-coverts black ; all the feathers of the latter, and the exterior feathers 

 of the former, tipped with blue ; greater coverts and quills black ; the 

 secondaries and tertiaries edged with blue ; edge of wing chestnut ; lower 

 back, rump and upper tail -coverts chestnut, glossed with lilac ; tail chest- 

 nut, tipped narrowly with brown ; under wing-coverts pale rufous. 



Bill bright red ; mouth paler red ; eyelids, where visible, plumbeous ; 

 iris dark brown ; legs and claws red. 



Length 5*4 inches, tail 1*1, wing 2 '2, tarsus '3, bill from gape T55. 

 The female is of the same size. 



The Three-toed Kingfisher, a lovely and diminutive species, occurs in 

 suitable localities throughout a considerable portion of Burmah. I noticed 

 it to be common in the evergreen forests of the Pegu hills, and also in 

 some thick jungle between Kyeikpadein and the Pegu river on some low 

 hills. Mr. Blyth records it from Arrakan. Mr. Davison states that it 

 is not uncommon in Tenasserim south of Yea, and Capt. Bingham observed 

 it in the Thoungyeen valley. 



It occurs over the greater part of India and Ceylon, the Malay penin- 

 sula, Sumatra and Java, and it also extends to Cochin China. 



This small Kingfisher is fond of rocky streams in dense forests, where 

 water collects in small pools ; it is also found in dry nullahs, but not so 

 commonly. Seated on a rock or a branch, it allows a very near approach, 



