554 Count T. Salvadori on Tauysiptera dea. 



species must we accept as the type of the genus ? I suppose 

 that the new school of Ornithologists will say that the type- 

 species is " Alcedo dea Linn." ed. xii. nee ed. x. Haviug 

 discarded T. dea as the proper name of the typical species 

 of the genus Tanysiptcra, and using trinomials for all the 

 white-bellied species of the genus, Dr. Hartert has con- 

 sidered them all as subspecies of T. hydrocharis from the 

 Aru Islands *, this having been the first species of the genus 

 described after Linne. I am, however, of opinion that this 

 proceeding is not right or natural. T. hydrocharis differs 

 from all the other white-bellied species of the genus in having 

 the lateral tail-feathers black, tinged above with deep blue, and 

 resembling in that respect T. nympha, T. dana'e, T. sylvia, 

 T. salvadoriana, and T. nigriceps, which form a distinct 

 group of the genus. For this group Heine has even pro- 

 posed a new generic name Uralcyon (J. f. O. 1859, p. 40G). 

 According to my views, T. hydrocharis is a perfectly dis- 

 tinct species, and by no means a conspecies, and is much more 

 nearly allied to the group formed by the above-mentioned 

 species than to the group having the lateral tail-feathers 

 entirely or mostly white. The division of the genus Tauysi- 

 ptera, as proposed by me (Orn. Pap. e Mol. i. p. 424), into 

 two groups — (i.) rectricibus lateralibus magna ex parte a I bis ; 

 (ii.) rectricibus lateralibus fusco-nigris, superne cceruleis — 

 still appears to me to be the most natural, and T. hydro- 

 charis should be included in the second group. It follows 

 that trinomialists cannot take T. hydrocharis as the typical 

 form of the white-bellied group of species, but will have to 

 choose some other species and use a different name. I 

 strongly advise them to go back to our old friend Tany- 

 siptera dea ! 



* Mr. Hartert seems to ignore the fact that T. hydrocharis is also 

 found in Southern New Guinea on the fly River (cf. Orn. Pap. e Mol. 

 i. pp. 456-457). 



