﻿CITTITRA CYANOTIS. 



(BLUE-EARED KINGFISHER.) 



Dacelo cyanotis, . . Temm. PI. Col. 262. 



Cittura „ ... Eeich. Handb. Alced. p. 38, t, ecccxxix, fig. 3170 (1851). 



0. minor : capitis lateribus nitide caeruleis, lilacino punctatis. 



Hab. in parte septentrionali insula? " Celebes" dicta?. 



Head orange-rufous ; back and scapularies yellowish-brown, the latter edged with pale 

 straw-colour; tail- coverts and tail deep rufous ; upper wing- coverts bright shining blue; 

 wing-feathers brownish, washed with blue near the base and edged with straw-colour near 

 the tips; sides of the head-bright blue, the uppermost feathers tipped longitudinally with 

 pale lilac ; chin whitish ; cheeks, ear-coverts and upper part of the breast lilac, each feather 

 having a fainter streak down the centre ; under surface of the body pale fulvous ; bill orange- 

 red; legs reddish-brown. Total length 9.5 inches, of bill from front 1.3, from gape 1.8, 

 wing 3.9, tail 3.6, tarsus 0.4, middle toe 0.7, hind toe, 0.3. 



Hab. Celebes (Wallace). 



This very rare bird, still unrepresented in most European museums, has as yet only 

 been met with in Celebes, where it was procured by Mr. Wallace, who has kindly given 

 me the following note on its habits. Nothing has previously been recorded, consequently 

 the value of his observations cannot be too highly estimated. 



Mr. Wallace observes : — 



" This species was obtained only in the hot dry forests at the foot of the great volcano 

 of Klabat, near the north eastern extremity of Celebes. It was very scarce. Its habits 

 were similar to those of the Dacelos, hunting about near the ground, from which it picked 

 up insects and molluscs, returning to perch upon a low horizontal bough in the thickest 

 parts of the jungle." 



My description is taken from a specimen lent me by Mr. Wallace, procured by him 

 in Northern Celebes, from which also the figure is taken. I should add that Temminck's 

 type specimen was said by him to come from Sumatra, but this is certainly an error. 



Additional References. — Dacelo cyanotis, Gray and Mitch. Gon. of Birds, I, p. 78 (c. 1844), id. Cat. Fiss. 

 Brit. Mus. p. 52 (1848), Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av. T, p. 154 (1850), Schl. Mus. Pays Bas, Alced. p. 22 (1863), id. 

 Vog Ned. Ind. Alced. pp. 18, 51, pi. 6 (1864). 



