190 Notices and Descriptions of various new [No. 159. 



stant in the two others ; and also by having the white caudal bar 

 placed much nearer the base of the tail. The colour, too, especi- 

 ally of the crest, is more rufous, and there is no intervening white or 

 whitish between the rufous portion of the crest -feathers and their 

 black tips. Length of the wing five inches and a quarter. It has 

 only been met with in South Africa. 



Specimens of each are in the Society's Museum. 



Alcedo grandis, nobis, n. s. Resembles A. ispida and A. benga- 

 lensis, but is distinguished by its much larger size. Length of wing 

 three inches and three-quarters, of tail two inches, and of bill to fore- 

 head two inches and one-eighth. From Darjeeling. It may be re- 

 marked that several specimens of A. bengalensis occurred in the same 

 collection with A. grandis, which I mention with a view to refute the 

 opinion entertained by some theorists, that the disparity of size be- 

 tween either of these species and A. ispida is due to the influence of 

 climate and other local causes. 



Halcyon capensis, (L.) Specimens of this bird (if absolutely the 

 same,) from the vicinity of the Straits, differ from those of India in be- 

 ing much more intensely-coloured, both above and below ; the ferrugi- 

 nous of the under- parts, which is very deep in apparently the males, 

 suffusing the nuchal collar and throat, which latter does not tend to be 

 albescent, and there is a considerable bluish-green gloss upon the 

 brown cap, never seen in Indian specimens, and reminding one of the 

 cap of Todiramphus collaris, (Scopoli and Swainson, v. chlorocephalus 

 of Gmelin.) In fact, there seems as good reason for distinguishing 

 these Indian and Malayan birds as species, as exists in the instance of 

 Cergle rudis of Africa, and C. varia, Strickland, of Asia ; and another 

 example of a Malayan bird which greatly exceeds its Indian represen- 

 tative in intensity of colouring, occurs in the common Jungle-cock of 

 the two regions, alike referred to Gallus bankivas, Tem. 



Coracias affinis, McClelland and Horsfield, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1839, 

 p. 164. The numerous specimens of Rollers from Assam, Arracan, 

 and Tenasserim, which I have seen, all pertain strictly to this species ; 

 having the upper parts greener than in C. indica, the neck and breast 

 devoid of the reddish-brown colour proper to the latter species, being 

 purplish-dusky varied with bright purple on the fore-neck, and the 

 entire under surface of the wing, except near the tips of the primaries, 

 is deep purple : but I have obtained several specimens in the vicinity of 

 Calcutta, and some from Tipperah, which present every gradation of plu- 



