﻿Mr. Blanford has very kindly given ine the accompanying note: — 

 "I found this Kingfisher only on the highlands of Abyssinia but never much above 

 7,000 feet above the sea. I did not meet with it on the Anseba, and suspect that it is 

 confined to the temperate region. It keeps to the banks of streams, and has, so far as I 

 had opport unities of judging, precisely the flight and habits of Alcedo ispida, sitting on a 

 branch over the water and thence dashing down upon fish, and when disturbed skim- 

 ming rapidly along »the stream just above the surface of the water. I never saw it far from 

 water. It was not very common." 



Des Murs in Lefebvre's " Voyage en Abyssinie" observes : — 



"The first example was found on the river Assem near Adoua on the 25th of July, 

 1839, and a second was killed on the river of Wave Gonagona on the 7th of April, 1840. 

 The bird has all the flight and habits of our common species, and frequents the borders 

 of the rivers." 



It will be seen from the accompanying observations of the Messieurs Verreaux, that 

 their experience of the Abyssinian race being about the same size as the South African, is 

 exactly contrary to my own and if their observations in this respect be correct, there can 

 no hesitation in the mind of any Ornithologist in uniting the C. cristata from all parts of 

 Africa under one and the same specific designation. I suspect, however, that as it is the case 

 with so many other African birds, two races differing only in size may be found to inhabit 

 respectively the highlands and plains of the same country. The above-named Ornithologists 

 have given us the following note: — 



"This species exactly resembles that of South Africa, which appears to be widely 

 diffused; for we can find no difference whatever, except the variation of size, the numerous 

 examples which have passed through our hands during the thirty years we have busied 

 ourselves with the study of Natural History and of Ornithology principally." 



" We must state, however, that specimens from certain localities on the West Coast 

 appear to us to be of a smaller size, while those from the Eastern portion, on the young of 

 which our colleague, M. Riippell, has founded his A. cyanostigma, entirely resemble those 

 from the Cape of Good Hope. We have gained proofs of this by the comparison that we 

 have made during our journeys among public museums. For the rest, its manners are the 

 same as the Alcedo ispida of Europe. In the adult birds, no difference exists between the 

 sexes ; both have the iris clear blue, with the beak and feet lively red." 



The description and measurements are from specimens in my own collection. 



