﻿buffy white ; breast pale buff, banded with heart-shaped lines of black, broader on the 

 sides of the breast and less distinct on the flanks. 



Hob. Celebes : Menado (Forsien, Wallace)', Kema (Forsten.) 



Of the three M.S. names under which the present bird has been known, it seems best to 

 employ that one under which the first description was issued, and as this was given by 

 Bonaparte, 1 prefer to use the name of monacha, which he assigned to it upon that occasion. 

 Professor Schlegel was the first to recognise that the very different looking bird which 

 forms the left hand figure in my plate, was nothing more than the young of the present 

 species, and this extraordinary difference between the young and old stages of plumage 

 weighed considerably with me in recognsising Monachalcyon as a separate genus. As far as 

 I can judge the Hooded Kingfisher is confined to the island of Celebes, where it has been 

 found chiefly in the neighbourhood of Menado. From this locality I have received 

 numerous specimens through the kindness of my friend Mr. W. T. Fraser, who used his 

 kind endeavours with M. Renesse van Duivenbode to procure them from thence. 



The British Museum has a specimen received from Leiden many years ago, and said to 

 be from Ternate, and Messrs. Cabanis and Heine give the habitat of " Celebes, Ceram, 

 Ternate," for the present bird. Both these latter localities I believe to be erroneous, all 

 the trustworthy evidence hitherto collected being in favour of its being confined to Celebes, 

 possibly to the immediate vicinity of Menado. 



The sexes appear to be similar in the adult bird, but it is some time before the full 

 plumage is attained, at least three distinct phases being gone through before the mature 

 dress is assumed. All of these stages are exhibited in the accompanying plate, the figures 

 of the more adult birds being taken from specimens in my collection from Menado, while 

 the young' bird is figured from the so-called " Ternate" specimen in the British Museum. 



Mr. Wallace has sent a note informing me that the Hooded Kingfisher is found in dry 

 forest, where it eats coleoptera, gryllse, &c In a fresh specimen the bill and feet were 

 coral-red. 



My description and measurements as well as the two right hand figures in the plate are 

 taken from specimens in my collection. The young is figured from a bird in the Leiden 

 Museum, but described from a specimen in the British Museum. 



