THE WHITE-TAILED KINGFISHEE 241 



The White-tailed Kingfisher. 



Tanysiptera si/lvia. 



North Queensland. 



A sti-ikingly handsome bird with long central tail feathers like those 

 of a Bird of Paradise; crown of head ultramarine blue, encircled by a 

 band of brighter blue, which forms an eyebrow and band over the nape; 

 lores, sides of face and neck, mantle and upper back black, the latter 

 with a patch of white; lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts white; 

 the two central tail feathers white, the others blue; wing-coverts ultra- 

 marine blue; under surfaces rich cinnamon; bill and feet sealing-wax red. 

 Total length 13 inches, eulmen 1.3, wing 3.8, tail 2.9, the central feathers 

 9, tarsus .5. 



"This pretty bird is rather plentiful in the neighbourhood 

 of Cape York, where it frequents the dense brushes, and is 

 especially fond of resorting to the small sunny openings in the 

 woods, attracted probably by the greater abundance of insect 

 life. I never saw it on the ground, and usually was first made 

 aware of its presence by the glancing of its bright colours as it 

 darted past with a rapid, arrow-like flight, and disappeared in 

 an instant among the dense foliage. Its cry, which may be 

 represented by ' Whee-whee-whee ' and ' Wheet-wheet-wheet, ' is 

 usually uttered while the bird is perched on a bare transverse 

 branch or woody rope-like climber, which it uses as a look-out 

 station, and whence it makes short dashes at any passing insect 

 or small lizard, generally returning to the same spot. It lays 

 three white eggs in a hole dug by itself in one of the large ant- 

 hills of red clay which form so remarkable a feature in the 

 neighbourhood, some of them being as much as 10 feet in height, 

 with numerous buttresses and pinnacles." (Macgillivray) . 

 Also in the smaller circular Termites' mounds about two feet in 

 height found in the dense scrub-covered hills near the coast of 

 Northern Queensland. The Termites usually fill up the holes 

 when the young birds have left. 



Family Meropidce. 

 Bill long and gently curved, eulmen with a sharply-defined 

 ridge. Oil-gland nude. Feet partially syndaetyle. Tail feathers 

 ten. Temperate and tropical parts of the Old "World. One 

 genus with one species only in Australia. Bee-eaters. 



