YELLOW-BILLED KINGFISHER. 
Range from Huon Gulf on north-east coast, round East Cape to Brown 
River on the south coast. Nearest to next form 
Syma torotoro flavirostris Gould. 
Cape York, North Queensland. 
Syma torotoro ochracea Rothschild and Hartert. 
Type locahty, Goodenough Island. 
Range, Goodenough and Fergusson Islands, D’Entrecasteaux Group.” 
It will be noted that no subspecies was recognised from south-west New 
Guinea, a large extent of country. Consequently, when Van Oort received 
a specimen from Sabang he referred it to the Aru Island form, writing : 
“ This specimen comes nearest to the form from the Aru Islands . . . The 
black patch on the head is away from the base of the bill for about 8 mm. 
The coloration of the upper- and under-parts is the same as in Syma torotoro^ 
not paler as is the case in Syma torotoro meeki from south-eastern New Guinea.” 
When Rothschild and Hartert received from the Setakwa River three 
males collected by A. S. Meek they could not decide what to do, so doubtfully 
referred them to the south-eastern New Guinea form, S. t. meeki. 
Ogilvie-Grant then discussed the matter in the Jubilee Supplement, No. 
2, Ihis, 1915, in connection with a series from the Mimika River. His con- 
clusions are peculiar, as are most of his results in that paper on this group. 
He wrote : “ All the specimens listed are typical examples of S. torotoro, and 
agree in every way with birds from Dorei and adjacent parts of north-west 
New Guinea, but are, on the average, a trifle smaller, as will be seen from 
the measurements given below. A female specimen collected by Dr. Lorentz 
at Sabang, Lorentz River, has been referred by Dr. Van Oort to S. t. tentelare 
Hartert, from the Aru Islands, because the black on the crown does not 
reach to the base of the culmen, an interval of 8 mm. intervening. The 
female of the Aru bird is easily recognised by the very small black area on 
the middle of the crown, whereas in the present, to wh'ch Dr. Lorentz’s 
specimen is referable, the black covers the greater part of the crown, extending 
over an area of about 34 x 20 mm. It occasionally commences at the 
base of the culmen or at a distance of 8-10 mm. from it, a buff-cbioured 
space intervening. These differences are of no importance, being found in 
birds procured in the same locality. Messrs. Rothschild and Hartert have 
referred with doubt to S. t. meeki from south-east New Guinea, three male 
examples procured by A. S. Meek on the Setakwa River. With the series 
now available from that locality, including a number of examples of both sexes, 
it is clear that the specimens in Tring belong to typical S. torotoro. The 
British Museum contains three adult male examples of typical S. t. tentelare 
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