collected in Dutch Neio Gmnea^ 205 



being found equally in Southern Queensland and in South 

 Australia as well as in the Northern Territory. The measure- 

 ments of the bill and wing vary and do not afford distin- 

 guishing characters as has been stated \_cf. Hartert, N. Z. vi. 

 p. 427 (1899)]. A. pulchra Grould is therefore a synonyni 

 of A. azurea, which ranges over the greater part of Australia 

 except the west. Mr. Mathews [cf. N. Z-. xviii. p. 285 (1912)] 

 recognizes no fewer than five subspecies in Australia and 

 Tasmania, of which two are desciibed for the first time ! 

 The only example of this Kingfisher in the British Museum 

 from the Aru Ishmds, Wallace Collection, has been referred 

 by Sharpe to A, lessoni. I agree with this identification, the 

 colour of the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts being 

 purplish-blue like the rest of the upperparts, the underparts 

 deep cinnamon and the sides of the breast and flanks dark 

 purplish'^blue as in the so-named A. pulchra. 



" Lesson's Kingfisher was a scarce bird. The few that 

 .were obperved wei'e all met with on the broad stony rivers 

 and occurred singly, or, rarely, in pairs. They were seen 

 either sitting on some ronk where there was a back eddy, or 

 skinnning with swift flight over the surface of the water. 



" The call was almost exactly like that of the European 

 Kingfisher, and in general appearance it reminded one very 

 much of that species." — C.H. B. G. 



Alcyone pnsilla. 



Alcyone pusilla (Temm.) ; Sharpe, Cat. xvii. p. 171 (1892) ; 

 van Oort, p. 77 (1909). 



a. ? . Wakatimi, Mimika River, 21st Nov. 1910. [No. 

 1529, G. C. S.'\ 



h. S ' Launch Camp, Setakwa River, 23rd Oct. 1912. 

 lA.F.R.W.] 



Iris d;)rk brown ; bill black ; legs pinkish-brown. 



In the British Museum Collection an adult female specimen 

 from Cape York, North Queensland, has all the purplish-blue 

 parts of the plumage bright cobalt-blue. Sharpe has conw 

 mented on the unusual colour of this specimen in the 



