ALCYONE. 
It is unnecessary to note other systematic workers in the present case 
until Sharpe completed his work in the Catalogue of the Birds in the 
British Museum. Therein he continued the separation of the genera 
Alcyone and Ceyx into different subfamilies, in the former genus classing 
azurea, pulchra, lessoni, affinis^ pusilla and richardsi. Under the latter Ceyx 
he recorded eighteen species, including solitaria and cyanipectus, classed 
by Bonaparte in Alcyone. 
The relationships of the small species will be discussed under the succeeding 
genus Micralcyone, so it may here be noted that Alcyone is restricted to the 
species azurea, of which I consider pulchra, lessoni, and affinis simply subspecies. 
Why pusilla was classed in Alcyone in preference to Ceyx I have not yet 
been able to determine, but it is possible that anatomical study will give 
us clues to the affinities of the species of this Order. Similarity in design as 
regards superficial characters tends to obscure these, so that it is quite possible 
we are associating species of diverse origin, and anatomical research might 
make clear such mistakes. 
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