392 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 48. 



behind the nostril, encircling the eye to the black lores, and blending 

 outwardly into the grayish color of the top and sides of the head; 

 exposed portion of wing-quills, mantle, back, rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts cendre blue, slightly palest on the rump and upper tail- 

 coverts; upper wing-coverts and tips of quills black, inner webs of 

 wing-quills white at base; exposed portion of tail-feathers italian 

 blue above; under side, and concealed outer edge of upper side of 

 rectrices black; chin, upper throat, and crissum white; remainder 

 of under parts grayish white, very finely and abundantly vermiculated 

 with gray, and sometimes faintly washed with blue on chest and sides 

 of head and neck; iris very dark brown; upper mandible vermilion, 

 sometimes dusky at tip; lower mandible entirely jet black, or, occa- 

 sionally, with a streak of orange on its side; feet purplish black; 

 claws, black. 



Measurements of type (adult male). — Length of skin, 218; wing, 106; 

 tail, 69; culmen (chord), 48; tarsus, 14.5. 



Average measurements of four adult males (type included). — Wing, 

 106; tail, 68; culmen (chord), 46.5; tarsus, 14.6. 



Average measurements of three adult females. — Wing, 105.2; tail, 68.7; 

 culmen (chord), 46.7; tarsus, 13. 



Geographical distribution. — Lakes Victoria and Albert, and the 

 Upper White Nile (Bahr el Jebel) . 



Remarks. — The forms of Halcyon senegalensis quite closely resemble 

 Halcyon cyanoleucus (Vieillot), but may be readily distinguished by 

 the absence of a black band extending through and behind the eye. 



HALCYON MALIMBICUS PRENTICEI, new subspecies. 



LAKE VICTORIA ASH-FRONTED KINGFISHER. 



Type-specimen. — Adult [male?], Cat. No. 217407, U.S.N.M.; col- 

 lected on the Sesse Islands, in Lake Victoria, Uganda, East Africa, 

 by Father Prentice, of the French Mission, Uganda. Not sexed by 

 the collector, but, from its large size, supposed to be a male. 



Characters. — Most closely related to Halcyon malimbicus malim- 

 bicus (Shaw) from West Africa, from which it differs in being slightly 

 larger, with the blue parts of the plumage purer and paler, and the 

 under parts pure white. 



Description of type (and only specimen) . — Head above deep bluish 

 gray-green, tinged with brown around base of maxilla; a narrow line 

 of white 'extends from the base of the bill at nostril over the eye; a 

 broad band of black extends backwards from the bill, surrounding 

 the eye, and extending posteriorly over the ear-coverts nearly to the 

 back of the head; chin and throat pure white; sides of head, neck all 

 round, upper chest, and edge of wing bremen blue; back from nape 

 to rump nile blue; scapulars and wing-coverts jet black; quills black, 

 the inner web white at base, the basal half of the external web of the 

 primaries, and nearly the entire outer web of the secondaries capri 



