INSESSORES. 215 



men, and under wing-coverts, sometimes nearly pure white on the 

 entire under parts. Bill dark, the basal portion of the under mandi- 

 ble white ; tarsi and feet pale reddish. 



Younger. Spots at the base of the upper mandible (in front of the 

 eye), flanks, and abdomen, deep orange; throat white; many feathers of 

 the breast narrowly edged with brown. Another specimen, younger? 

 Entire under parts dull white, slightly tinged with orange or buff; 

 feathers of the breast very distinctly edged with pale brown ; wing- 

 coverts edged with dull yellow. 



Hab, — Australia. Borneo? Sumatra? Specimen in Nat. Mus. 

 Washington, and Mus. Acad. Philadelphia. 



A species subject to some variations in the colors of both the upper 

 and under parts, but not sufficient to render it difficult to determine. 

 Of twenty-four specimens now before us, probably representing all the 

 shades of color and all ages, no one could readily be mistaken for 

 another species, unless perhaps for the young of T. recurvirostris. The 

 principal differences in specimens of this bird, are the greater or less 

 intensity of the buff of the under parts, quite dark in some, and very 

 light in others, and in the darker or lighter shade, and greater or less 

 extent of the green of the head and upper parts of the body. Speci- 

 mens from the collection of the Duke of Rivoli, now in the Museum 

 of the Philadelphia Academy, are labelled as from Borneo and Suma- 

 tra. They do not differ from Australian specimens. 



In a catalogue of the family Halcyonidae, in the Museum of the 

 Philadelphia Academy, we regarded this bird as Alcedo australasia, of 

 Vieillot. According to Dr. Pucheran, however, in " Etudes sur les 

 Types peu connus du Musee de Paris," in Guerin's Mag. de Zool. 1853, 

 p. 389, that name is applicable to Halcyon coronatus, Miiller, and not 

 to this species. 



This bird appears to be of common occurrence throughout Australia, 

 and is now one of the best-known species of this group. It is very 

 handsomely and very accurately represented in Mr. Gould's plate, 

 above cited. 



