﻿The Corvm cegyptius of Hasselquist, from which Latham took the description of his 

 " Kgyptian Grade," on which again Gmelin founded his Gracula atthis, is very puzzling, for 

 Hassehjuist's description suits that of Akedo ispida very well; but he says that it lives in 

 Egypt in trees (!), feeds on insects, and that he has found the remains of centipedes and 

 BCorpions in the stomach. In any case, it is impossible to say whether the bird mentioned 

 by Hasselquist, if a Kingfisher at all, were A. ispida or A. bengalensis, and as the question 

 of the determination is of little moment, we have expunged Gracula atthis from our list of 

 synonyms. 



Mr. Gould has beautiful specimens of the Common Kingfisher from the Crimea, which 

 appear to be identically the same as our British bird, and it is impossible to find a definite 

 c haracter on which to found specific distinction. Nevertheless, Professor Reichenbach has 

 separated the bird from Eastern Europe as a distinct species. The worthy Professor has 

 been singularly unfortunate in the species he has created among the " Alcedinida?," and we 

 fear that in the present instance he has not been more successful than usual. Nevertheless 

 \\c state his case in his own words, leaving it to the judgment of Ornithologists to pronounce 

 upon the specific validity of Akedo pallasii: — 



"General colour as in A. ispida, but the throat sharply divided by a straight defined 

 line from the reddish-brown breast. The young bird also differs from that of the former by 

 the sharply defined white throat and greyish-brown under-surface. Besides the well 

 characterized difference in the colour, particularly in the plumage of the young, there is a 

 good difference in the short thick-set build of the foot and toes, as also of the toes and nails, 

 the latter in particular being, though shorter, twice as high as in A. ispida, that of the latter 

 being scarcely one millimetre, of the present species two millimetres. It is found on the large 

 rivers of Asiatic Russia and on the A r olga ; according to Eversman, it is rare on the latter 

 river, occurring as far north as the Kama. It is more plentiful at Irtisch, notably more so 

 on the rivers of the Altai and Jenessei, and in the whole of Western (but not Eastern ) 

 Siberia, than on the lakes. The three young birds which I have before me, of which I figure 

 two, were shot in the end of July, 1849, on the Lake Noor Saisan in Sangarian Tartary. 

 Old birds appear to pass from the East through Germany in the winter, and have been shot 

 in Saxony, but I have never seen young birds of this species in Germany, and it, therefore, 

 probably does not breed with us. If Akedo advena of Brehm is this species I cannot say, 

 as the difference in the skull, on which this learned author founds most of his species, cannot 

 be observed, unless the bird is freshly received." 



Now it is evident that Reichenbach inserted the localities for his species on the 

 authorities of Pallas and Eversman; but, on the other hand, Dr. Yon Schrenk, who has 

 actually examined specimens from the Altai Mountains, refers them to Akedo bengalensis, 

 the small representative of Akedo ispida- We fear that among the host of imaginary species 

 already burdening the pages of Ornithology, the Akedo pallasii of Professor Reichenbach 

 must be added as another victim. 



Our Common Kingfisher is spread all over Europe, but does not extend its range far 

 north. As a straggler it occurs in Scandinavia, but has not been known to breed in Sweden, 

 though Kja rbolling states that it has been found nesting in Denmark. In these northern 

 latitudes it has only been observed as an occasional visitant during the latter part of the 

 summer and autumn, its farthest summer range to the north being probably the Baltic 

 Provinces. In Great Britain it is generally distributed and is subject to a partial migration, 

 a few remaining with us during the winter season. According to a note communicated to 

 Mr. Gould's " Birds of Great Britain" by H. G. the Duke of Argyll, it visits Argyleshire 

 only occasionally and at distant intervals, and never remains long; indeed, in Scotland it 

 is far scarcer than in England. 



As regards Its distribution throughout the British Islands, Mr. A. G. More, in his 

 admirable paper on the distribution of our native birds during the breeding season, says it 

 is "thinly scattered throughout England and the south of Scotland. Breeds regularly in 



