Annals of the Transvaal Museum 
213 
CORACIIDAE 
Oberholser (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. xxviii. 859, 1905) has separated the 
species of Coracias into two genera, reviving the name of Coraciura for 
the second one. A still further division should be made on the characters 
of wing and tail, not to mention the colour characters which lend support 
thereto, and I propose to place them as follows : 
1. Outer tail feathers not prolonged: 
A. Outermost primary longer than the fourth: Coracias. 
B. Outermost primary shorter than the fifth: Eucoracias gen. nov., type -L 
Coracias mosamhicus Dresser. 
2. Outer tail feathers prolonged: 
A. Long tail feathers pointed: Coraciura Bp. 
B. Long tail feathers spatulate: Trimenornis gen. nov., type Coracias L 
spatulatus Trimen. 
Our chestnut Rollers should not be referred to the genus Eurystomus, 
which consists of greenish coloured species, and we should therefore utilise 
the name of Cornopio Cabanis, of which C. glaucura (St Miill.) is the geno- 
type. The form of Cornopio afra occurring within our limits should bear the 
subspecific name of suahelica (Neumann, Journ. fur Orn. 1905, p. 184), 
the typical form being found in Senegal. 
Alcedinidae 
Mathews (B. Australia, vii. 141-162, 1918) has cleared up much of the 
misconception previously existing as to the generic status of the species 
commonly lumped together under Halcyon. I had already decided two 
years before the appearance of Mathews’ rearrangement that the species 
alhiventris, leucocephala and senegaloides should be separated, from which 
it will be seen that I differed from Mathews only in reference to leuco- 
cephala ; and even in this exception, Mathews appears to have been in some 
doubt as to the advisability of placing it under Chelicutona. Several im- 
portant characters leave no doubt in my mind that leucocephala should 
receive full generic rank. Chelicutona alhiventris lacks the white wing- 
pattern, and in this respect comes nearer to Sauropatis than any of the 
allied African genera. We may regard the general plain coloration of this 
species and Chelicutia chelicuti as being due simply to their living normally 
under drier conditions of environment, such as are not suited to the develop- 
ment of a high standard of coloration; their similarity in this respect is 
therefore of homological rather than genetic significance. The colour pattern 
of the under surface of the wing, on the other hand, has not been affected 
by the conditions of environment to the same extent, and may therefore 
be taken to be of genetic value. Furthermore, the bill of "'Halcyon” 
leucocephala is like that of Sauropatis, that is, the culmen is level, not 
depressed at the tip as in the other African species. We find therefore that 
Chelicutona resembles Sauropatis in the wing-pattern, Chelicutia resembles 
it in the shape of the wing and "Halcyon” leucocephala resembles it in the 
shape of the bill. In view of these differences, I propose for H. leucocephala 
P. L. S. Muller the new generic name of Pseudhalcyon. The South African 
species must now stand as follows : 
