﻿CEYX DILLWYNNI. 



(DILL WYN'S KINGFISHER.) 



Ceyx Dillwynni .... Sharpe, P.Z.S. 1868, pp. 591, 593 et, 1869, p. 511 ; Salv. Atti 



E. Accad. Torin. 1869, p. 461 ; Gray, Hand-list of B. p. 94. 



Ceyx tridactyla .... Keich. Handb. Alced. p. 8, t, ccceiii b. fig. 3389 (1851) ; Motley 



aud Dillw. Nat. Hist, of Lab. p. 13 (1855). 



0. capite et uropygio lilacinis : rostro corallino : macula ad latera colli cserulea nulla : scapularibus nigris 

 cseruleo lavatis. 



Hab. in insula " Labuan " dicta. 



Head, neck, and the whole of the back lilac-rufous, with beautiful shades of violet ; a 

 little spot on the forehead at the base of the bill, blue ; a longitudinal patch of feathers 

 along the sides of the neck, white ; scapularies black, washed with bright blue ; wing- 

 coverts rufous varied with black, with a few minute spots of bright blue at the tips of some 

 of the median coverts ; quills blackish, the inner web light rufous at the base, more 

 conspicuous on the secondaries, the outer web of the first primary rufous for the greater 

 part of its length ; tail rufous, black at the tip ; chin and abdomen white ; shoulders, upper 

 part of the breast, flanks, under wing- and tail-coverts, rufous ; bill and feet coral-red. 

 Total length 5 - 8 inches, of bill from front 1*5, from gape 1*5, wing 2*45, tail 1*2, tarsus 

 0-25, middle toe 0*4, hind toe 02. 



Hab. Labuan {Motley and Dillwyn). 



In examining the " Handbook " of Professor Reichenbach I was struck with the 

 figures he had given of the bird he calls Ceyx tridactyla, and I could not quite reconcile 

 them with any species of Kingfisher with which I was then acquainted. They were 

 apparently intended to represent two Bornean specimens in the Dresden Museum. The 

 absence of the blue spot at the side of the neck sufficiently proved that they were not 

 intended for Ceyx melanura or Ceyx tridactyla, while at the same time they evidently were 

 not Ceyx rujidorsa, of which a figure had already been given in the work. The Bornean 

 bird had blue Scapularies, which at once precluded the idea of its being identical with 

 the last-named bird, which has rufous scapularies uniform with the back. 



In Messrs. Motley and Dillwyn's " Natural History of Labuan," (I.e.) I found a 

 corroboration of my idea of the distinctness of the Bornean Kingfisher. In this work the 

 bird called Ceyx tridactyla is said to be " above from the beak to the tail, rufous red but 

 has " the scapulars dusky black, tipped with rich blue." In reply to my enquiries, Mr. 

 Dillwyn most kindly sent for examination the specimen which had formed the subject of 



