84 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 



473. HALCYON CONCRETA. 



THE SUMATRAN KINGFISHER. 



Dacelo concreta, Temm. PL Col. 346. Halcyon concreta, Sharpe, Man. Alced. 

 p. 219, pi. 83 ; Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi. p. 76 ; Hume, S. F. viii. p. 86. Carida- 

 grus concretus, Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 102. 



Description. Male. Forehead, crown and nape dull green; the lores 

 and a broad band through the eyes and ear-coverts, completely encircling 

 the head, black ; a broad moustachial band^ an inch and a half long, blue, 

 tipped with black near the end ; a narrow supercilium from the nostrils to 

 the end of the ear-coverts, the space between the black and blue bands of 

 the head, a broad collar round the upper back, the sides of the neck and 

 the whole lower plumage orange-buff, paling on the vent and under tail- 

 coverts ; a patch on either side the breast blackish ; the back, immediately 

 next the orange-buff, black ; wing-coverts, secondaries and tail blue ; quills 

 dark brown edged with blue, the tertiaries very broadly so ; the first 

 primary edged narrowly with orange-buff ; back, rump and shorter upper 

 tail-coverts smalt-blue ; longer tail-coverts deeper blue. 



The female, according to Mr. Hume, resembles the male in general 

 appearance, differing only in having the inters cap ulary region, coverts 

 (except the primary greater ones), outer portions of secondaries, visible 

 portions of tertiaries and scapulars all green, with the feathers of the 

 coverts and scapulars marked with a buffy-white subterminal spot. 



The young differ very slightly from the adults. 



Legs, feet and claws chrome-yellow, sometimes with a dingy greenish 

 tinge ; irides deep brown ; lower mandible, gape and a narrower or broader 

 stripe on the upper mandible parallel to commissure from base to point 

 bright yellow to orange chrome-yellow ; eyelids of the same colour ; rest 

 of upper mandible dull black. (Davison.) 



Length 9 inches, tail 2*8, wing 4'5, tarsus '7, bill from gape 2*7. The 

 female appears to be larger. 



The Sumatran Kingfisher was procured by Mr. Davison in the extreme 

 south of Tenasserim at Bankasoon and Malewoon ; and at this latter place 

 my men obtained two specimens. 



It extends down the Malay peninsula^ and occurs in Sumatra and 

 Borneo. 



This bird, according to Mr. Davison, frequents dense forests and is not 

 found near water. It feeds on lizards and woodlice. 



