214 The Birch of (lamHa. 
surfiice blue, iliillcr ami greener tliaii tliat of the adult, bird ; iiiidcr 
surface pale whitish-blue, entirely lacking the lustre ot the adull bird, 
as one would expect ; thr beak was blackish-horn colour, and the legs 
and feet bluisli-grey. 
(To he continued.) 
The Birds of Gambia. 
By K. HoPKlNSON. D.S.O., M.A., M.l^. 
(Continued from p. 186.) 
ALCEOmiDAE. 
The Giimhian Kingfishers may be arranged in two f^roups : (1) the 
Pied. (2) the Blue Kingfi.shers. Of the first we have two representaives, 
Ceryle radix and C. mu.rima. 
Cerijle rudia. PIED KINOFISHEE. 
Range. Asia Minor to Egypt ; Tropical Africa. (H.L.) 
A black and white bird about half as big again as the English King- 
fisher, which is very common in the Gambia, where they are usually to be 
found in pairs or often just after the rains in little family parties of five or 
six. They seem equally at home in salt or fresh water, and all along our 
little strip of coast, up the river from its mouth to our boundary, along all 
its creeks and at every pool and wet swamp in the country they are to be 
seen, either sitting motioidess on a post or stick standing up in the water or 
on some overhanging bough, or else hovering in the air with beak pointing 
vertically downwards and stationary except for their quickly quivering 
wings, to periodically dive with a splash right into the water beneath and 
emerge again almost at once, if successful, with a fish, wliich has been 
espied from above and captured by the bird's headlong ])lunge — a plunge 
so swift that is almost impossible to follow it with the eye. After a failure 
the bird returns to its hovering, to watch and dive till success rewards its 
efforts, when it carries off its capture to some spot near by where it can be 
gulped down and disposed of. They are indike most other Kingfishers in 
being quite noisy birds continually calling to one another with slu-ill chatter- 
ing notes and besides they show none of the shynes.s and love of solitude of 
their relations. Their native names are Jilango (Maiidiiiyo ) and Babukar 
(Joloff). 
The general colour is black mottled with white ; the crown (slightly 
crested) is black surrounded by a white streak from the beak above the eye 
round the nape and joins the black back patch ; wings, black with white 
p itches ; under surfacs white with a patch of black on eacli side of the 
chest. Iri;. brown : f)ea!v and legs, black: length. 11 inches. In young 
birds niin\ of the feithers are edged with brownish grey. 
('.mi.niini. (JIAXT KIXGFISHER. 
Iluiiij:'. Ti-opic.vl Africa, Senegambia to Niger, Shoa ; East, Soutli 
and South-west Africa. ( II .L.) 
A much larger liird tlian tin^ prin-ediiig and found in the s;nnc sitna- 
