The Andamans and Nicohars. — V. Ball. 59 



are continued quite round the occiput, forming" a narrow 

 band; beneath this is a broader black band continued from 

 the ear-coverts ; and then a still broader fulvescent-white collar, 

 as in the allied species ; immediately bordering" the last, the 

 back is more infuscated than in the other, and the crown is 

 likewise very dark, with some rufous lateral feathers ; under, 

 parts white, a little tinged with fulveseent, but less so than 

 in T. sacer ; and the back, wings, and tail are much as 

 in T. collaris ; bill black above and the tip of the lower 

 mandible ; the rest of the latter white ; legs brownish. Length 

 of wing- four inches and a quarter ; tail three inches ; bill to 

 gape two and a quarter. Young rather smaller, with dusky 

 margins to the pectoral feathers, and the beak shorter, with a 

 white and hooked extreme tip. 



" It may be remarked that in T. collaris and T. sacer there 

 is a much less developed white occipital band concealed beneath 

 the surface of the feathers, but which shows conspicuously when 

 the coronal plumes are a little raised. 



" The males are considerably brighter than the females, from 

 which the above original description was taken ; wings and tail 

 much bluer, of a decided Prussian blue ; the black nuchal collar 

 (continued from the ear-coveits) is much narrower, and in some 

 tinged with blue ; and the white supercilia (carried round the 

 occiput) have little or even no tinge of rufous." 



The following are the measurements of a specimen obtained 

 by me in the Nicohars : — 



Wing 4 inches; tail 3j bill at front 1'75 ; tarsus '53 inch. 



ALCBBINI3JE. 



28— (134 Us). — Alcedo Asiatica, Swains. A. men- 

 ingting, Horsf. 



Andamans. — {A. Bengalensis, Gml.), JBlyth and Ty tier, MouafsApp. 

 p. 357 ; {A. meningting), Horsf., T. and B., Ibis, N. 8., Ill, p. 319 ; 

 Sharpe, Monog. Alced., p. 28 ; Ball, J. A. S. B., XLI, Ft. II 



1872,^.277. 



" Head and cheeks dark-blue, banded with bright cobalt ; a 

 longitudinal patch of feathers along the sides of the neck 

 white, tinged with rufous; back beautiful bright cobalt; 

 scapulars black, washed with blue ; quills black ; the inner web 

 very light rufous at the base, the outer web washed with blue, 

 more especially on the secondaries ; tail bluish-black ; throat 

 whitish ; a spot in front of the eye rufous, edged with black ; 

 under surface o£ the body with the under-wing and tail-coverts 

 bright rufous, extending up the neck in very old birds; bill 

 black; feet red." — Sliarpe, loc. cit. 



