THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
of the back ; but that is not present in true Ceyx. I can start, then, with a 
division into two groups, the true Ceyx and the Alcedinine Ceyx. The former 
eliminate themselves quite easily, as with the tjrpe species tridactyla Pallas 
can be associated melanura Kaup, eueryihra Sharpe, hasilanica Steere,* 
samarensis Steere, mindanensis Steere, innomhiata Salvadori, dillwynni Sharpe, 
with other subspecies. These reddish species might be divided into two 
groups, but they appear to be connected, so that we can leave them as one 
item. They are all characterised by their broad, short red bills, pinkish 
coloration above, yellow or white with a puik breast band underneath, 
sometimes the head barred with lilac, but generally this is obscure or missing. 
The Alcedinine species of Ceyx are more intricate, and four groups can be 
easily distinguished, one with red bills, one with particolored bills, and two with 
black bills. The red-billed group has the head barred with blue, the Alcedine 
dorsal greenish-blue tract, the white throat, and the under-parts otherwise 
yellowish. In this group we see colour changes, though the colour pattern 
remains exact above and the coloration practically the same below. It is 
probable that two groups are again here confused, but I cannot separate them 
at the present time. I propose to name this group 
Cyanoceyx, gen. nov. 
and select Ceyx lepida Temminck as type. I refer to the present group 
wallacei Sharpe, cajeli Wallace, goodfellowi Ogilvie-Grant, hournsi Steere, 
malamaii Steere, collectoris Rothschild and dispar Rothschild and Hartert. 
As with the preceding, more subspecies may be determined, and some of 
the above may be so regarded. The variation in the coloration is very 
interesting; and when more specimens have been acquired a comparative 
study might lead to valuable results. 
In colour pattern one of the black-billed groups very closely agrees, while 
the coloration is even similar, but the black bill is long and narrow and 
agrees very closely with that of Alcyone. For this group there is a name 
in existence — 
Therosa, 
and this has been used subgenericaUy by Salvadori. The species I have 
examined are solitaria Temminck and meeJci Rothschild and Hartert. 
This group and the next provide much thought for the students of colour 
values and variation in structure, as I will point out. The next group has 
the upper mandible dark, the lower light, with the upper coloration as in the 
preceding, but reddish underneath, with a sexual blue breast band. The bill 
is long and of medium width. This species has been the cause of much 
“ Moulton {Journ. Straits Br. Roy. As. Soc., No, 67, Dec., 1914, p. 148) reports that O. dillwynni, 
eueryihra, and innominata seem inseparable, judging from Bornean series. 
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