296 Dr. P. H. Balir : Notes on the 



A pair were seen constantly entering a hole in a dead stnmp 

 at a considerable height from the ground during the months 

 of May and June, where they undoubtedly had a nest. This 

 species (or one like it) is extremely common on Vanua Vua 

 and Lakemba, islands of the eastern group. The plumage 

 of one specimen I procured harboured a hippoboscid fly. 



[ ? . Lakemba, Fiji, July 23, 1910. Wing 97 mm.; bill 34. 



This, the only specimen brought home, is a puzzling 

 bird. I went through the very poor series in the British 

 Museum and examined those in the Tring ]Museum, but could 

 find no example to match it. It is evidently, by the dull 

 coloration and light edgings to the wing-coverts, a young 

 bird, and Dr. Hartert tells me that it is undoubtedly H. sacra. 



The forehead feathers are edged with buff; the crown, 

 mantle, and scapulars are dull grey-green ; the upper tail- 

 coverts emerald-green ; the wings and their coverts rather 

 brighter than the back, the coverts edged with buff ; there is 

 a white collar of new feathers below the black collar, which 

 again is separated from the crown by a buffish-white collar 

 continuous with the supercilium of the same colour; whole of 

 the under parts, including axillaries and under wing-coverts, 

 old and new feathers white, at the side of the neck the feathers 

 are edged with black ; the ear-coverts are dull green. 



The young in the British ^luseum differ from this 

 specimen in having the breasts barred and the under wing 

 buff and in being brighter in the colour of the upper parts. 

 This specimen is moulting its body-feathers (the new ones 

 being rather brighter than the old) and the two central 

 tail-feathers are in the quill. 



It seems that there is much yet to be learnt about the genus 

 Haley 071 in the Fiji group, for besides the stages of i)lumage 

 and moults not being at all understood we have in this 

 group : — (1) Halcyon sacra, found in all the islands (Layard, 

 ' Ibis,^ 1876); (2) Halcyon suvensis of Sharpe from Suva, 

 Vitilevu, of which the type in the British Museum alone 

 appears to be known and which I think may perhaps only be a 

 variety of H. sacra ; (3) Halcyon solomonis, obtained by M. J. 

 Nicoll at Suva, Vitilevu C^ Ibis,^ 1904), and I fancy there is 



