May 18, 1979 
Dr, G.F. Mees 
Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke 
Historie 
Raamsteeg 2 
Fostbus 9517,2300 RA 
Leiden, Nederland 
Dear Dr. Mees: 
Thank you for your letter of May 2nd with the information 
on Halcyon smyrnensis in Sumatra and Java. It was very 
helpful indeed. 
tion among species (with all the behavioral interactions 
involved). I wonder, therefore, how the relations between 
smyrnensis and other Halcyon kingfishers, especially chloris, 
will eventually evolve (or settle down) in Sumatra. In this 
context, it would be useful to know if the Sumatran smyrnensis 
are relatively recent invaders or a relict of some earlier, 
Pleistocene or post-Pleistocene, expansion. Dw you know 
of any data that would be relevant to this question? 
Yours sincerely, 
Martir oynihan 
Senior Scientist 
