OF THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS, 287 
Notwithstanding what has recently been advanced, I must 
re-express my opinion that this is a good species, differing 
from gigantea (Hasselt) as pointed out, S. F., I, p. 471. 
I have now specimens of the true gigantea, one killed by Mr. 
Hough at the extreme south of the Tenasserim Provinces, and 
two others from near Singapore. They all want the white or 
whitey brown patch in front, and the whitey brown throat, 
and have a distinct green and not bluish gloss. Again, they 
are not nearly so pale on the back as indica. I have now com- 
pared 4 Javan, 2 Singapore, 1 Malewoon specimen, all of one 
type, representing as I believe the true gigantea with between 
30 or 40 specimens of indica from Southern India and the 
Andamans, and I cannot myself see how the adults of the two 
species can be confounded. The young of indica doubtless 
have the white patch, more or less tinged with brown, but even 
so, they appear to me distinguishable at a glance. 
These birds possess such extraordinary powers of locomotion, 
that I should not be surprised to hear of specimens of indica 
turning up in Sumatra or the Malay Peninsular as stragglers 
from the Andaman’s, but if the races were not distinct, it is 
most extraordinary that, out of 37 specimens from India and 
the Andamans, not one should belong to the gigantea type, and 
that out of 7 from Java and the Malay Peninsular, not one 
should be of the indica type. 
118.—Merops philippinus, Lin. 
I mentioned (S. F., II, p. 162,) that, though seen at the Cocos, 
and obtained at the Nicobars, we had no record of the occurrence 
of this species at the Andamans. I have recently obtained 
specimens killed at Aberdeen (S. Andaman) in November by 
Mr. De Roepstorff. 
130.—Halcyon atricapillus, Gm. 
This also is a species, which is not quite so rareas I fancied, 
as I have received altogether some 8 or 10 specimens since my 
paper was published. 
133.— Ceyx tridactyla, Lin. 
No second specimen appears to have been since obtained from 
the Andamans, but Mr. De Roepstorff has sent me two speci- 
mens which he procured on Kondul, a tiny island immediately 
adjoining the Great Nicobar. 
134 quat.— Alcedo Beavani, Walden. 
Referring to what I said (II, p. 174), I may mention that I 
have now examined about 26 specimens from the Andamans, and 
that the only difference that I can discover to be constant be- 
tween the two sexes is that in the female, the lower mandible 
is red, a peculiarity shared, however, apparently by the young 
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