THREE-TOED KINGS-FISHER. 



covers, and duller on the tail, wing-covers, and lesser quill margins ; front 

 blackish ; from the nostrils to the eye a whitish line, and from the ears on 

 each side of the neck a whitish stripe, which almost forms a collar round 

 the nape. Quill feathers sooty black. All the under parts orange-ferrugi- 

 nous ; throat and belly nearly white. Tail very short, nearly hid by the 

 upper covers. Feet red ; claws black." 



We lately received our specimens from the neighbourhood of Sydney, 

 New Holland. 



CEYX TRIDACTYLA, Be Lacepede. 

 Three-toed Kings-fisher. 



PLATE LV. Fig. 2. 



C. supra violacea-rubescens, subtus albescens, hypochondriis croceis ; rostro pedibus- 

 que rubris. 



Alcedo tridactyla, Gm. Linn. vol. i. p. 45Q. — Lath. Ind. Om. vol. i. p. 260. — Horsf. Trans. 



Linn. Soc. vol. xiii. p. 174. 

 Tridactyle Kings-fisher, Lath. Gen. Hist. vol. iv. p. 59- — Sham's Gen. Zool. vol. viii. parti. 



; p. 104. 



We received this beautiful little species from Mr Armstrong, a gentle- 

 man now resident in Java. It is about five inches and a half in length, of 

 which the bill, measuring from the gape, makes nearly one inch and a half. 

 The bill is bright orange, of a strong form, and more triangular shape than 

 the others of this group, or the true Kings-fishers, and resembles more that 

 of Halcyon. The upper parts are a rich sienna-red, having the tips of the 

 feathers on the head, back of the neck, and rump, reddish-purple, differing 

 in the intensity of its shades according to the light ; the throat and middle 

 of the belly and vent, yellowish-white, of a darker shade upon the breast, 

 and changing into a deep saffron colour upon the sides. The feet are slen- 

 der, the two anterior toes long, and connected to the commencement of 

 the first joint from the extremity ; the claws are long, slender, and sharp. 



This species, although it has been long known to ornithologists, is rare- 

 ly met with in collections, and the skins still bring a considerable price, 

 both among the dealers in this country and upon the continent. 



