SMYRNA KINGFISHER. 2S1 



open jungle^ and dry cultivation, percliing upon trees, 

 poles, walls, outbuildings, and any similar situations. 

 Here it watclies for a land-crab, mouse, lizard, grass- 

 hopper, or other insect, and pounces down upon it, 

 returning to its perch to devour it. Near water it 

 catches fish, (for which it sometimes, though rarely, 

 dices,] frogs, tadpoles, and water-insects. Layard says 

 that he has seen it seizing butterflies. It has a loud, 

 harsh, rattling scream, which it almost always utters 

 when flying. It is stated to build its nest sometimes 

 under a projecting stone on the bank of a nullah, 

 sometimes in a hole in a bank, at other times in holes 

 in decaying trees, and to lay from two to seven round 

 fleshy eggs." 



Of its habits, or even a reference to its appearance 

 in Europe I can give no more information than that 

 afforded by the fact (stated by Blasius) of its being 

 found in the Turkish Islands, and being included in 

 his own list of Europeati birds. I wrote to Professor 

 Blasius, but as I received no answer, I presume my 

 letter miscarried. 



Meanwhile I have much pleasure in giving a drawing 

 of an Indian specimen, marked "Shot at Doo Saree, 

 22 Jan., 1850," sent to me most kindly by Mr. Gould. 



The following is a description of this skin: — Length 

 eleven inches, carpus to tip five inches, tail four 

 inches, beak from forehead two inches, from gape two 

 inches and three fifths, tarsus half an inch. 



Head, nape, sides of neck, shoulders, abdomen, under 

 wing and tail coverts dark chesnut brown; scapulars 

 dull greenish blue; back and upper tail coverts bright 

 turquoise blue; upper wing coverts black; primaries 

 white on their basal half, with the outer web blue, 

 the terminal half dark brown; first short, second and 



VOL. IV. 2 F 



