392 
COMMON KING FISHER. 
China, a species closely allied, but smaller, and 
more delicately proportioned in all its parts. 
The mandible is blackish brown, but the 
interior of the gape, the base of the maxilla, and 
the feet, are bright reddish orange ; the head and 
nape, shoulder covers, scapulars, and wings, are 
of a deep olive green, the feathers of the head 
and nape bordered with clear verditer blue ; the 
centre of the back, rump, and tail covers are bril- 
liant verditer blue, appearing conspicuously in 
flight ; (the feathers on this part are in great 
request by the dressers of Limerick or Irish flies ;) 
the quills are brownish black, edged with olive 
green ; the tail underneath appears of the same 
colour, on the upper parts approaching to ultra- 
marine blue. From the base of the maxilla runs 
a streak of dull verditer blue, joining with the 
colour of the back, and separating the auricular 
feathers and a patch of white on the sides of the 
neck, from the colour of the under parts ; the 
chin and throat are yellowish white, and the 
whole under parts with the auricular feathers are 
clear orange brown, becoming paler on the vent 
and tail covers. In the female the colours gene- 
rally are less vivid, and the white patch on the 
sides of the neck is more subdued. 
