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Female. Similar to the male, but with a broad slaty -blue band across the breast, with 

 a narrow white band below it; and the whole of the abdomen and under wing-and tail- 

 coverts rich chesnut. 



Young Female. Very similar to the old female, but the bill very much shorter, the 

 stripes on the head very broad and dark, so that little of the grey edgings are seen, the 

 forehead especially being nearly black; wing-coverts more narrowly edged with grey than 

 in the old bird, so that the black bases of the feathers are more conspicuous, the whole of 

 these coverts being also tinged with rusty brown ; under wing-coverts, whitish tinged with 

 rufous, and some of the lower ones barred with slaty grey ; rest of the under surface as in 

 the old female, excepting the breast-band, which is dull grey tinged with reddish, the shaft 

 of each feather appearing very plainly. 



Young male. Similar to the young female, but has the whole of the external edge of 

 the wing-coverts and quills profusely spotted with good-size spots of white ; under wing- 

 coverts as in the young female, as also the breast-band which, however, is more distinctly 

 tinged with rufous in the centre, remaining grey on each side. 



Central America: Mexico (le Strange), Jalapa (Salle), Guatemala, Lake Petcn (Leyland), Lanquin 

 ( Sulci il), British Honduras, Belize River (Salvin), Honduras, Omoa (Leyland), Mosquitia ( Wickham). 

 Costa Rica (Carmiol): Veragua, Panama (McLeannan), Chepo (Arce), Rivcis Atrato and Truando (Michler). 

 New Granada (Mus. R.B.S). Ecuador, 



Babahoyo (Fraser). Tiinidad (Leotaud). Guiana: 



Surinam (C. Bartktt), British Guiana (ScllOmburglc) , French Guiana (Bothenj, 1UUS. Cantabr.), Cayenne 

 ( MUS. R.B.S). Amazonia, Mexiana and Tocantins ( Wallace), Barra do R. Negro, Borba (Natterer), p e bas 

 (Hauxwell), Lower Ucayali and Huallaga (E. Bartlett). Brazil: Maranham (Wendeborn, Mus. Salv. and 

 (rodi)l.), Bahia ( 11' Uchercr), Sapitiba, Marambaya, Island of Tacurgar, Ypanema, Curytiba, Rio do Baraxudo, Paranagua, 



irisanga (Natierer), Novo Fribourgo, Congonhas (Bumieister) . Parana (Burmeister). 



I am indebted to Mr. Osbert Salvin for the loan of a beautiful series of specimens from 

 his collection, which with those kindly lent me by Dr. Sclater and the tine series in my own 

 collection, has placed at my disposal an amount of material seldom at the command of a 

 Monographist. I have, therefore, been enabled to give a detailed account of the plumage of 

 both sexes at different ages, and I further find that the age of the bird can pretty correctly 

 be determined by an examination of the under tail-coverts. The old female has the under 

 wing and tail-coverts rich chesnut like the body, and the young female only differs in 

 having the under wing-coverts white tinged with rufous. The young male resembles the 

 old female, and as the bird advances in age, the band on the breast disappears by being 

 interrupted in the centre, and the under wing-coverts become white, while the feathers on 

 the lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts also become white, the rufous tinge 

 gradually disappearing, and, finally, the white under tail-coverts become barred with slaty- 

 blue. This last character indicates a very old bird, and it is seldom that one is seen with 

 the bars fully developed all over the tail-coverts. 



Mr. Osbert Salvin has very kindly supplied me with the following observations on 

 the present bird, as observed by him in Guatemala: — 



u Ceryle torquaia cannot be called a common species in Guatemala, as its range seems 

 strictly confined to the streams of the warmer portions of northern Vera Paz, Peten, and 

 the adjoining county of British Honduras. No part of the former department is so 

 thoroughly ransacked for birds as the forests surrounding the Indian village of Choctum, 

 but I never recollect having seen a skin amongst the thousands I have examined from that 

 part. It was, however, in this neighbourhood that I first heard of the bird, recognizing 

 the description given me of a great ' Martin Pescador ' that had been seen near Choctum 

 as applicable to this species. On the 14th of March, 1862, when travelling to Peten, 1 

 obtained my first specimen whilst staying for a day at the village of Lanquin. This 

 village is situated about 1,200 feet above the sea level. During my journey down the 



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