No. 442.] OSTEOLOGY OF THE KINGFISHERS. 



various species, their habits, and their nidology, all of which has 

 been done in order to avoid any biased opinion 1 might other- 

 wise arrive at on any particular point, where the osteology alone 

 had rome to influence me in the formation of an opinion. 



It is eighteen years ago since I have been engaged with 

 the osteology of the kingfishers, when I published a brief illus- 

 trated memoir on the "Osteology of Ceryle alcyon," which 

 appeared in the Journal of Anatomy, (Vol. 18, London. 1884, 

 pp. 279-294), and yet it can be said with great truth that we 

 stand much in need of a thorough investigation of the general 



are not unanimous on the systematic position of the kingfishers, 

 and still less so on their relationships with other groups of birds. 



Some thirty years ago Cunningham contributed a brief notice 

 of some of the anatomical points of the kingfishers (Proc. Zool. 

 Soc, 1870, p. 280), and for various views upon the taxonomy of 

 the Halcyones and their affinities one should consult W allace. 



{Contrib. Ornithology, 1850, p. 80.) : Huxley {Proc. Z00L Soc. 

 1867, P- 467.): Coues ("Key to X. Amer. Birds;' rev. ed. p. 

 469, 1884.) : Fiirbringer (Untersuchungen s. Morph. u Syst. der 

 Vogcl. Amsterdam, 1888, pp. 155 5—1 567) : and the Mon- 



According to Huxlev's classification, the kingfishers (Alcedi- 

 nicke) belong to the Desmognathae, they forming a family 

 of a third group out of four of the division designated as the 

 Coccygomorphae. He associates with them the Bucerotkke, 

 Upupidae, Meropidae, Momotidae, and the Coracidae ; and he also 

 believed that they approached the Pelargomorphae in their struc- 



