﻿Hub. Along the foot of the Himalayas in Nepal and Sikim, in the Sunderbnns and 

 along the east of the Bay of Bengal (Jerdon); Teesta River, Sikim (Bulger) ; Andaman 

 Islands (Tytler, Beavan); Penang (mm. B.B.S.); Malacca (mus. B. Stcinhoe)', Java 

 (Horsfield); Banjermassing (^fotley)•, Labnan (Motley and DUhvyii); Philippine Islands 

 (mus. Lttgd.); Formosa (Stcinhoe); Japan (Siebold) ; Celebes ( Wallace). 



This species has been called Halcyon coromandeliana by most ornithologists, as 

 they have supposed that the Alcedo coromandeliana of Scopoli was founded on Sonnerat's 

 118th plate. A close examination of the text, however, shows that this is not the case, 

 and I do not think I can more clearly state the facts than by giving an extract from the last 

 letter addressed to me on the subject by Lord Walden, whose skill in determining the 

 descriptions given by the older authors is well known to all ornithologists. I quote as 

 follows : — 



" In the ' Specimina Zoologica ' of Scopoli occur some of the most curious and 

 flagrant inaccuracies to be found among the older authors. Alcedo coromandeliana , Scop. 

 No 53, is described from Sonnerat's 119th plate, Guepier jaune de la cote de Coromandel, 

 notwithstanding that Scopoli quotes p. 212, t. 118, where the description and plate of the 

 ' Coromandel Kingfisher ' of Latham are given. The odd thing, too, is that Scopoli 

 classes it rightly among the Kingfishers. After the specific description of his so-called 

 Alcedo coromandeliana comes what he terms the 'character generis' of the species. 

 This, you will find, is taken from the introductory remarks of Sonnerat on the affinities 

 of the Bee-eaters to the Kingfishers (Voy. lnd. p. 213). But what is more odd still is, 

 that Scopoli further on (No. 6G) gives another title to Guepier de la cote de Coromandel, 

 calling it Certhia lutea, and quoting the page and plate correctly. The subject of Sonnerat's 

 1 19th plate is of course a xanthonism of Merops viridis. Latham quotes both of Sonnerat's 

 plates correctly— PI. 118 is his Alcedo coromanda, and PI. 119 Merops <■ort>llla/l(/((s. ,, 



" Scopoli made a similar kind of blunder under his title of M uxcicajja malabarica 

 (Dissemurus). In the diagnosis he correctly describes Sonnerat's 111th plate, but the more 

 detailed description is of Sonnerat's next species, Gobe-mouche a longue queue de Gingi 

 — Turdus (Kittacincla) macrourm (Gm.).'' 



From the above reasons it follows that the name of H. coromandelianus (Scop.) must be 

 rejected, and the name of H. coromanda (Lath.) must be retained. Of course it is difficult at 

 this period of time clearly to make out the exact locality from whence Sonnerat's bird really 

 came, but I believe it most likely to have been from Malacca; on the coast of Coromandel 

 it certainly never occurs. Taking, therefore, the small form which is distributed throughout 

 the Indo- Malayan sub-region as the type of the species, we may apply the name of H. 

 coromanda to the bird found throughout all these countries. In Japan a slightly larger 

 form occurs, which has been separated by Bonaparte as H. Schlegeli, while in Celebes a still 

 larger form is found, differing also in the extreme brilliancy of its colours. This is the 

 H. rufa of Wallace. 



It will be seen that I do not award specific rank to either Halcyon Schlegeli nor to II. 

 rufa, as they are at best only larger races of the ordinary Indo- Malayan H. coromanda, nor 

 have I arrived at this conclusion without a careful consideration of the subject, and after an 

 examination of the finest series of Ruddy Kingfishers ever brought together in any one 

 country in the world, my own collection alone containing no less than fourteen specimens 

 from all localities. In addition to this, I was enabled through the kindness of Mr. Wallace, 

 Mr. Swinhoe, and other friends, to take with me for comparison with the fine series at Leiden 

 all the specimens contained in their cabinets, so that on arriving at the Leiden Museum I 

 had before me at least forty examples from every locality where the species has yet been 

 met with. 



In size the Japanese Ruddy Kingfisher is slightly superior to the ordinary form of 

 1 1 nlcyon coromanda, found throughout the Indo -Malayan sub-region, and the general colora- 



