414 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
147. Common Kingfisher. Alcedo ispida. 
1. Alcedo ispida pallasii, Rchb. (Handb. Spec. Orn. Inv. Alcedinez, 
p. 3, 1851—Volga). 
2. Alcedo ispida pallida, Brehm. (Vogelfang, p. 51, 1855—Egypt). 
(1) A resident in the Mesopotamian plain whose numbers are increased by 
winter visitants. This Kingfisher is perhaps not common as a breeding bird or 
else it retires to less frequented spots, as most observers considered it to be a 
winter visitor. It is reported as breeding however at Baghdad and Basra by 
Cheesman, while Tomlinson’s records of bengalensis breeding at Basra must belong 
to this race. Cumming records it at Fao from August to April and specimens 
sent home were identified by Sharpe as bengalensis ; I have examined these and 
I consider them to be pallasii. Pitman noticed this Kingfisher at Feluja till 
April when it disappeared, and during the summer he found - none in the marshes 
near there nor at Museyib. In winter even it seems rather local and in places 
quite common, thus it is reported common at Basra and Baghdad and rare at 
Amara. 
Five specimens examined: Basra, 4-2-17 (Armstrong) ; Kurna, 17-3-18 ; 
Akkarkuf, 21-8-17 (C. R. P.) ; Baghdad, 26-9-17 (P. A. B.), @, Basra, 18-2-18, 
also two from Fao in B. M. 
These correspond best with pallasii ; the bills do not appear to me to be so 
long and slender as in pallida ; they are too large and not bright enough for benga - 
lensis. Wings 72-74. Bills 37-38 from feathering, 42-44 from base. No speci- 
mens were obtained in the breeding season but in absence of any other race one 
concludes that this is also the breeding form. 
(2) One obtained by Weigold at Urfa, April 2lst (wing 74, bill 40) is 
recorded by him as pallida ; Neumann also considers one obtained at Ras-el-Ain 
on February 7th,with a remarkably slender bill of 41 mm. to belong to this form. 
148. Pied Kingfisher. Ceryle rudis. ‘“Esleligga.’’ 
Ceryle rudis rudis, L. (Syst. Nat. Ed. x, p. 116, 1758—Egypt). 
A very common resident from Fao and the Karun river to Mosul but naturally 
few are met away from canals or rivers. It is commoner below Amara than 
above, but it is common above Baghdad on both the Euphrates and Tigris. 
There are colonies all the way up the Tigris where the banks are high and 
Pitman records a colony at Kurna, consisting of hundreds, in a bank which is 
unaffected by floods and so affords a secure nesting place each year. Eggs are 
reported early in June and five seems to be the usual number. 
This Kingfisher seems to prefer the shallower parts of the river and backwaters 
to the deeper water ; Buxton met with it in the Hawizieh swamp in July many 
miles from land. The flocking and flighting to roost in the evening up the river 
must have struck the least observant and the o cry of several together is 
bound to attract notice. 
Five specimens Se 3, Qalet Saleh, 26-5-18; 3, Baghdad, 21-9-17, 2, 
26-9-17 (P. A. B.); 9, Kurna, 30-12-17 (P. Z. C. and R. E. C.) ; Basra, 12-5-19. 
These are ae rudis, and not the Indian form, with the base of the tail 
spotted and longitudinal streaks on the flanks. 
149. White-breasted Kingfisher. Halcyon smyrnensis- 
**Mahel-Hel.”’ 
Halcyon smyrnensis smyrnensis, L. (Syst. Nat. Ed. x, p. 116, 1758— 
Smyrna). 
This Kingfisher has rather a curious distribution in Mesopotamia ; up as far 
as Nasiriyeh and Kurna it is fairly common and resident ; at Amara Buxton only 
saw it twice in 13 months, viz., August 3lst and April 5th and he thought these 
must have been migrants, a statement supported by Cheesman who says the 
only one he saw at Sheik Saad (April 5th) was migrating. On the ess 
