ON THE GENUS CITTURA. 135 



"forest." Like Dacelo princeps, this Kingfisher is only found in the forest, 

 not near the rivers of the coast or the sea-shore. 



One thing strikes me in the genus Cittura, though not pecuUar to it 

 (for the same is observable in Melidora, Dacelo, &c.) ; and that is the 

 enormous strength at the base of the upper mandible. 



This reminds me of a specimen of a British Kingfisher (Alcedo ispida) 

 which I examined on the 5th of August, 1877. The circumstances of the 

 bird's death were unusual. It had a small jack (^Esox Indus), 4| inches 

 long, Avedged into its mouth, head foremost. For a Kingfisher to be choked 

 by a small fish is not rare (various instances have been recorded) ; but in 

 this case the shock of the bird going one way and the fish the other (viz. 

 the flying impetus and the swimming one) was so great that the skull and 

 one of the mandibles of the Kingfisher were fractured. It was a bird of the 

 year ; both mandibles were wholly black ; perhaps, therefore, the more 

 solid skull of an old bird might have had a better chance. 



It is probable, then, that great strength at the base of the upper 

 mandible may be a valuable factor in the structure of the genus Cittura, 

 though, at the same time, I am well aware of the difference of food and 

 habits of the various genera of the Alcedinidse from those of our solitary 

 fish-loving species. 



Without following the subject too far, I may say that Mr. Sharpe 

 (quoting Mr. Wallace), in his ' Monograph of the Alcedinidse,' p. xlv, says 

 of the genus Tanysiptera : — " They rest on branches three to five feet from 

 the ground, and dart down upon their prey, often with such force as to stick 

 their bill into the ground, as shown by its being often covered with mud." 



This habit must require considerable strength in that organ. 



Mr. Dresser has some remarks on this subject (' Birds of Europe,' 

 part xlv., Alcedo ispida). Quoting Dr. KUtter (J. f 0. 1866, p. 38), he says 



VOL. III. u 



