THE BIRDS OF SINGAPORE ISLAND 
Other liabHs: — Although this kin^^fislier is commonly seen 
in inland districts of Singapore it is much more numerous along 
the coasts and it is one of the common birds of all the small 
islands near Singapore. 
it appears to live chtefly on crustaceans, insects, small 
lizards, etc,, and examples have been obser^^ed hammering the 
shell dwellings of hermit crabs agamst stones in order to get 
at the succulent occupant. In spite of the fact that it is such 
a common bird comparatively little seems to have been recorded 
of its nesting habits. 
A small Malay boy once brought some young birds to us 
which he said he had obtained near the Botanic Gardens, 
They were only a few days old, but we could not ascertain the 
sitimtion of the nest. Our informant said that the nest was 
reached by climbing the tallest tree in the neighbourhood, and 
at constderable personal risk, a statement volunteered no doubt 
in the hope that the rate of rciumieration would depend on the 
physical (but we suspect in this case mental only) exertion of 
the bird nester! 
Oihc r Ksi iigfis h p rs 
Somewhat similar to H. smymensis in appearance is the 
black-capped kingfisher, and indeed on the wing the two species 
are quite difiicult to identify although when the birds settle 
there should be little doubt about the matter. In sixe there is 
not much to choose between the two although when it comes 
down to a question of actual measurements Haicyon pHeata, 
as our black-capped bird is called » runs a Httle larger than 
smyrnensis. 
The main differences are that pilcata has a conspicuous 
black cap bordered by a white collar which rims all round the 
neck. The upper parts are also deep violet or blue, quite 
unlike the greenish-blue of smymensis. The white apron is 
also much less well defined in pileata but this is a character 
not very noticeable in the field. If the bird is sitting breast 
towards the observer it will be noticed that the flanks and 
abdomen are also not chocolate but rather pale yellowish-brown 
or rich buff in colour. 
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