﻿Hab. New Guinea (Quoy and Gaimard, Wallace, von Rosenberg), Waigiou (Wallace), 

 Mysol (Wallace), Ceram (Mils Lugd.), Aru Islands (Wallace). 



For the discovery of this beautiful Kingfisher science is indebted to MM. Quoy and 

 Gaimard, the Naturalists attached to the " Uranie and Physicienne" in their voyage round 

 the world. In the " Zoologie" of the above-mentioned voyage we find the following note. 



" This species, to which we have given the name of our friend and colleague, the 

 Botanist attached to this expedition, inhabits the woods of the Papuan Islands ; the abori- 

 gines call it mangrogone and mankinetrous ; the inhabitants of Guebe call it salba, these 

 being the names employed by the islanders for all Kingfishers. It is not shy and is easily 

 approached. The individuals that we killed had their beaks still covered with the earth 

 in which they had just been digging to procure their food." 



A tolerable figure of one of the type specimens is given in the " Atlas" of the voyage, 

 which is reproduced by Prof. Rcichenbach in his " Handbuch," but it gives no idea of the 

 extreme beauty of the bird, which is one of the handsomest Kingfishers in existence. 



The exertions of Mr. Wallace revealed many new facts concerning the geographical 

 distribution of the present species, as will be seen by a reference to the list of localities 

 given above. 



I am indebted to his kindness for the following note. 



" This fine species was not uncommon in swampy jungle, where its curious loud 

 barking was often heard, and was sometimes mistaken for a dog. It feeds on Crustacea, 

 mollusca and myriapoda which it picks up off the ground. I at first took the blue and. 

 brown- tailed forms for distinct species and have a note to the former " sexes alike;" but 

 have unfortunately not kept a blue- tailed female, as I afterwards came to the conclusion 

 that the difference was sexual." 



Herr G. von Rosenberg remarks as follows, in his " Beitrag zur Ornithologie von 

 Neu-Guinea" (I.e.) : — " A remarkable appearance is observed in this species as in 

 Chakqpsitta leucopygialU ; there exist, namely, two constant varieties of it, one with a 

 reddish-brown, the other with a blue tail, but otherwise coloured alike. The latter variety 

 is the rarest. It lives in all the other islands belonging to New Guinea, and is by no 

 means uncommon." 



Mr. Wallace, having carefully sexed his specimens, enables us to determine with cer- 

 tainty that the birds with the brownish- red tail are the females, but I think that the red tail 

 is not assumed at once, but gradually. My friend Dr. T. Salvadori of Turin, who has 

 taken a great interest in the present work, lately forwarded me a list of specimens of 

 Kingfishers contained in the Zoological Museum of that city, and in his remarks upon the 

 present species, he mentions that they possess one specimen only at Turin from the Aru 

 Islands, " caudd rufo-castaned, rectrice und tantttm cywwd." Dr. Salvadori does not tell me 

 from whom the specimen was procured, but it is labelled a male. The accuracy of this 

 determination I must call in question, in the face of the evidence brought by Mr. Wallace, 

 but Dr. Salvadori's remarks are not the less interesting as shewing that the red tail is not 

 directly assumed. Moreover, the original describers (l.c) state that " two other individuals, 

 coming from the same localities present some slight differences ; the tail of one has no 

 black at the extremity and that of the other is red underneath, a shade of colour, which 

 in the case of the latter is probably due to age ; for sundry blue spots seem to indicate that 

 in time this part of the birds plumage will become entirely of this same colour." 



The fine pair represented in the accompanying plate were procured by Mr. Wallace. 

 The male, in his collection, is from Waigiou ; the female, in my own collection, was 

 obtained in New Guinea. 



