Birds of Celebes: Alcedinidae. 
299 
known female of M. capucinus^ to Dresden at the meeting of the German Orni- 
thologists’ Union 1897, and he agrees with us that, while M. capucinus may be allowed 
to stand as a good species, easily distinguishable by its greenish black head, the form 
intermedius should rank only as a race of M. monachiis typical. 
As Wallace and Meyer remark (b4, d3) M. monadms lives, not near 
river-banks, but in the forest, and Wallace noted that it is insectivorous in 
its habits, feeding on coleoptera, gryllae^ etc. (I). The bird appears to moult 
about August, as shown by a specimen in the Dresden Museum (C 10860). 
Touching its relationship with other genera Sharpe considers (Monogr. 
p. XLV) that Monachalcyon “shows no direct affinity to any existing genus, and 
the only place I can assign to it is in the vicinity of Tanysiptera ... It is 
very probably derived from the same parent-stock, and, being isolated in the 
island of Celebes, has been modified into its present form”. The author also 
remarks (p. XVIII) that in form of bill Monachalcyon seems intermediate between 
Tanysiptera and Halcyon^ being in general plumage not far removed from the 
cinnamon group of Halcyones. We differ in so far from Dr. Sharpe as to 
think that Monachalcyon may be described as a small-billed and long-tailed 
Halcyon^ and that its nearest existing allies are the long-tailed TLalcyones of the 
Philippines, M. homhroni of Mindanao and H. lindsayi and moseleyi of Luzon and 
Negros. The first-named species has indeed been confounded with M. monachus 
hy so experienced an ornithologist as Prof. Peichenow (3). In his recent 
Catalogue of the Kingfishers (Cat. B. XVII, 1892, 296) Dr. Sharpe includes 
Caridonaaj fulgidus of Flores and Lombok in the genus Monachalcyon, and, like 
Hartert, we acquiesce in this view, though this species has a rounded culmen 
(in M. monachus the ridge is rather sharp), and the tail much more graduated, 
the outermost feather being only Vs the length of the tail instead of about Ve as 
in M. monachus, and it is said to haunt low woods and thickets, while M. monachus 
is a forest bird. It differs moreover so greatly in coloration that it may prove 
to be less nearly related to Monachalcyon than are the nearest members of Hal- 
cyon, H. hombrord and its allies. 
93. MONACHALCYON CAPUOINUS M.&Wg. 
Black-cowled Kingfisher. 
Plate IX. 
Monachalcyon capucinus (1) M.&Wg., Abb. und Ber. Mus. Dresden 1896, Nr. 2, p. 12; (2) 
Hart., Nov. Zook 1897, 160. 
a. Monachalcyon monachus capucinus (1) Hart., Nov. Zool. 1897, 163. 
“Bukaka daka daka”, Tonkean, E. Celebes (Nat. Coll.). 
Diagnosis. Differs from M. monachus of North Celebes hy having the head and face black 
(instead of China-blue), the tail olive-green (not washed with blue), the remiges dusky 
olive-green (not washed with blue), the remaining upper parts clearer olive-green, the 
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