﻿Arabia. It is generally met with in pairs both by water and in the wooded country ; is, 

 however, more of a fish-eater than fond of Orthoptera, Coleoptera, &c, which latter, however, 

 it does not disdain. The breeding-time in Abyssinia must be in May and June ; the males 

 then follow each other with much noise and pugnacity. The call may be rendered dji-dji- 

 dji-dschi." 



The following observations have been kindly given to me by my friend M. Jules 

 Verreaux : — 



" Contrary to most Ornithologists, I am unable to separate the two birds known by 

 the names of Halcyon semiccerulea and Halcyon erythrogastra of St. Jago, where I have killed 

 many specimens. The birds from the last named locality appear indeed of a more vivid 

 colour, especially as regards the fore part of the body, which is beautifully white compared 

 with specimens from Senegal and generally from the West Coast of Africa ; I have seen, 

 however, in the numerous collections from these countries, individuals having the same 

 colouration as the former bird, whilst those from Abyssinia, which are also generally a little 

 purer in tint than those of West Africa, seem to be intermediate in size between the last- 

 named birds. 



"As regards its habits they are exactly the same in every locality, and, as the Abyssinian 

 travellers have well remarked, these birds ordinarily frequent only brushwood, sometimes 

 the large forests, especially in the breeding season, for it is in the cavities of the large trees 

 that the female retires to lay her four or five glossy pure white eggs which are like those 

 of the other species, but perhaps of a little purer colour than its congeners. At this time 

 the male appears exclusively charged with the care of the female at first, and afterwards of 

 the young birds till they are old enough to shift for themselves. In St. Jago I saw a large 

 number in the cotton-fields which swarm with insects, and these appear to be their 

 principal food. I am not at this day aware if at the season when insects become scarce, 

 the birds, like some of their congeners, frequent the water to feed on the little fish, or to 

 capture the small crustaceans. I am, however, disposed to think that they do this from 

 the fact that I killed several specimens at Goree, where I found them in small flocks of 

 eight or ten individuals, not far from the sea shore, but I could not follow them up on account 

 of the shortness of my stay. As with most species of the genus, their nature is quick and 

 restless, their cry is deep and sonorous, especially in the early morning and late at night, 

 when they collect to seek their roosting place in the woods, for as far as I could see they 

 always took refuge in the densest shades to pass the night. During the breeding season, 

 which we observed once during our travels at Sierra Leone in November, each pair was 

 solitary, and did not mingle with the others. It was at this time that we discovered many 

 nests, and we could see that the male was actively employed in chasing the insects to take 

 them to the female as she was sitting on her nest. It is also at this period of the year that 

 the bird is beautiful to see, for when he is alarmed he erects all the feathers of the head, 

 forming a kind of graceful crown. During the breeding season also the birds are silent, 

 and it is exceedingly rare to hear any other cry but the short note of the male as he 

 approaches the nest. I may add that it was by error that my friend Sir Andrew Smith 

 included this species among the birds of South Africa. When we were at the Cape together 

 I gave him a specimen from Senegal out of my collection, and it must have been by an over- 

 sight that it was included by him in the list of South African birds." 



I was particularly pleased at hearing from so good an authority as M. Jules Verreaux 

 that Halcyon semicozrulea was not a South African bird. I have long had doubts on this 

 subject, for I have never seen a specimen among ^he numerous collections I have examined 

 from South Africa, and the southermost range of the present species is therefore, so far as 

 we know, Ovampo Land, where it was procured by Andersson. 



The specimen from which the description and figure of the adult bird has been taken is 

 from Abyssinia, in my own collection, that of the young bird being the Ondonga specimen 

 above mentioned, also in my own cabinet. 



