TOWNKKM) AM) WhlMiiKI ; ||||. UII(I»S. I'.J.') 



that tlir lunU wtrr tli-tuilird li\ a "Hawk.' \\<' miiainrd soiiir time 

 watt'hin^, ami I ^a\v our frinul tin- (iickud (lri\(' a NOdilv <»nt of llic 

 tu'>t an«l takf |M)>s«'s.si(»ii of it, wliilc tlu* <>M Itinis aixl a|)|>ar)-iit jiro- 

 priftors tri«'«l in \aiii to disloil^ic tlir iiitruil«T. * * * 



"1 (l«) not <loiil)t that the Ctickoo was ahoiit to hiy. * * * 

 "Although I olFiTc*! n'wanis to the natives on many ishin<is, I 

 lu'vor was al)K' to ^^t an o^g of the ( 'uckoo. In the (lilherts the peoph* 

 say they ha\e never seen egp> or yotmg, and, as I told yon, they hold 

 the tradition that the female takes a jxtrtion of the covering of the 

 yoiinj; palm-leaf and flying up with it deposits it on a cloud, lays her 

 egg on it. wluTc it is hatched l)\ the smi." North, I'roc. Zool. soc. 

 b)ndon, lS9(i, p. 9M. 



It would he strange indeed if this remarkahle hird could survive 

 under the care and feeding of the Noddy, hut this seems more plaus- 

 ible than that its young should he able to thrive (in the Ellice Islands) 

 upon the vegetalile food given young pigeons for their sustenance. 

 ( ertainly the former belief is the more cre<lible. 



ALCEDINIDAE. 

 40. Sairopatis mediocris (Sharpe). 



Halcyon mediocris .Sharpc. Cat birds Brit, mus., 1892, 17, p. 260. (Ponap<5). 



.\ female was taken on Ponape in the Eastern Caroline Islands, 

 12 February, 1900. In his original description Sharpe designates 

 this bird as subspecies b of .S. cinuamomina (Swain.son) (though he 

 uses a binomial name for it). The bird at hand differs from females 

 of N. cinjwmumina in having the under parts entirely white, the crown 

 I)aler and the collar on tiie hind neck white instead of cinr^imon. In 

 addition the white collar is bordered behind l)y black and the back 

 is more bluish. The diflferences are so great that Sauropatis lucdiocris 

 seems (from the present material at lea.st) to represent a full species.* 

 iS. mcdiorri.^ agrees with the following species N. sacra in the form of its 

 bill, and in ha^■ing the tenth (outermost) primary shorter than the 

 Hxth and longer than the fifth. 



' As has been pointed out by Seale (Occas. papers Bernice Pautihi Rishop mus.. 1001. 1, 

 no. 3, p. 46) Halcvon rufigularit .Sbarpe (Cat. birds Brit. mus.. 1SN2. 17. p. 2W) ba.s«d on a skin 

 received from the Zooloirical society of Ix>ndon. is the femjilc of Sauropalit cinnamomina 

 (Swainson). 



