1869. ] MR. R. B. SHARPE ON THE GENUS ALCYONE. 357 
Hab. Australia, Cape-York peninsula (Mus. R. B. Sharpe); Vic- 
toria River and Port Essington, N. W. Australia (Gould, Elsey). 
Prince Bonaparte, following Mr. G. R. Gray, has united this spe- 
cies to the foregoing, in my opinion erroneously, and I can only 
believe that they have not seen a specimen. Mr. Gould and Mr. 
Cassin, both of whom have examined the type specimens (now in 
the Philadelphia Museum), have separated the two as distinct, and 
I entirely agree with their decision. I have in my collection two 
beautiful specimens of 4. pulchra, and I certainly consider it one of 
the most clearly characterized of all the species of Alcyone. The 
brilliant hue of the whole plumage and the extension of the blue 
from the sides of the breast down on to the flanks distinguish it 
from any of the allied species. Both of my specimens have a slight 
blue edging to the feathers of the breast, one of them showing this 
peculiarity more than the other; in fact it almost forms a pectoral 
band in this specimen. 
7. ALCYONE PusiLuA. Little Blue Kingfisher. 
Ceyx pusilla, Temm. Pl. Col. 595 (1836); Miill. Verh. Ethn. 
p- 22 (1839); Gray, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 172. 
Alcyone pusilla, Gould, Birds of Austr. ii. pl. 36 (1848); Reich. 
Handb. Alced. p. 7, t. 398. f. 3068, 3069 (1851); Cass. Cat. Hale. 
Phil. Mus. p. 5 (1852); Macgill. Voy. Rattl. ii. p. 356 (1852); 
Sclater, Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc. 1858, p. 172; Rosenb. Journ. f. Orn. 
1864, p. 118; Gould, Handb. Birds of Austr. i. p. 142 (1865); 
Ramsay, P. Z. 8. 1868, p. 383. 
Alcedo pusilla, Schi. Mus. Pays-Bas, Alced. p. 18 (1863); id. 
Vog. Ned. Ind. Alced. pp. 12, 48, pl. 3 (1864). 
Nu-réa-bin-mo, of the natives of the Coburg peninsula (Gould). 
A. torque pectorali nullo : abdomine albo. 
Hab. in Australia septentrionali, in Nova Guinea, et insulis Mo- 
luccensibus. 
Above rich ultramarine, having a greenish tinge in some lights on 
the head, cheeks, and wing-coverts ; quills blackish, the inner web 
lighter at the base, the outer web distinctly washed with greenish 
blue, especially on the secondaries; tail blue above, black beneath ; 
a loral spot and a patch of feathers along the sides of the neck white, 
the latter slightly tinged with orange; entire under surface white, 
with a greenish gloss on the breast in some lights; shoulders, sides 
of the breast, and flanks rich ultramarine; bill and feet black ; irides 
dark blackish brown. Total length 4:8 inches, of bill from front 
1°15, from gape 1:4, wing 2-0, tail 0°85, tarsus 0°25, middle toe 
0°45, hind toe 0-2. 
Hab. Australia: N. Australia (Gould); Rockingham Bay (Ram- 
a New Guinea (Miller); Aru Islands (Wallace); Gilolo (Wal- 
lace). 
This little species, though everywhere rare, is widely distributed. 
My description and measurements are from a Gilolo specimen lent 
to me by Mr. Wallace. 
Proc. Zoou. Soc.—1869, No. XXIV. 
