FOREST KINGFISHER, 
and Port Essington) do not differ from typical H. macleayi. The differences 
in colour are probably entirely due to wear, the back and scapulars 
being blue in freshly moulted birds and becoming more or less verditer- 
green as the plumage becomes worn.” 
These remarks are somewhat inaccurate, a feature usually seen in 
Ogilvie-Grant’s latter work. First he absolutely ignores Campbell’s H. 
harnardif though the majority of skins available to him were labelled 
Cape York. He then insinuates that he examined my series, which was 
not so. He asked for and passed over the type of H. m. distinguendua, 
though a specimen from Port Essington did confirm it. He was also 
unaware of Ashby’s independent recognition of the blue coloration which 
is quite distinct from the verditer-green of tjrpical birds. Every Australian 
ornithologist who compares these will admit this. The typical birds are 
never bright blue, but in the freshest plumage are verditer-green. Perhaps 
Ogilvie-Grant was confused by the New Guinea specimens, which, probably 
exemplifying different races, show variation. Little value was apparently 
given to distance, climatic conditions or natural boundaries, when south- 
west New Guinea, south-east New Guinea and Fergusson Island specimens 
were lumped together in an essay dealing with subspecific forms. When 
good series are examined, these will prove to be three distinct subspecies. I 
have examined individuals in connection with my own good lot of Australian 
birds, and I unhesitatingly still recognise four subspecies in Australia, thus : 
Lazulena macleayii macleayii (Jardine and Selby). South Queensland : 
New South Wales. 
As noted above. New South Wales was determined as type locality on 
account of Gould’s Halcyon incinctns, an absolute synonym, being recorded 
from that locafity. It should, however, be altered to South Queensland, as 
it is fairly certain from Gould’s later remarks that the specimens came from 
Moreton Bay, at that time called New South Wales. Campbell and Barnard 
have recently recorded Halcyon macleayi from Rockingham Bay, North 
Queensland, indicating that these should be by me called Cyanalcyon 
macleayi harnardi, observing : “ Common : They appeared to be typical 
‘ Macleays.’ ” Again a lost opportunity for the revision of the ^‘species” 
H. harnardi Campbell, as undoubtedly the Cairns birds belong to the s4me 
subspecies as the Cape York form, according to my specimens. 
Lazulena macleayii harnardi (Campbell). North Queensland. 
Lazulena macleayii distinguenda (Mathews). Northern Territory. 
Of this subspecies Halcyon macleayii cceruleus Ashby is completely a 
synonym. I note that H. L. White records Northern Territory birds as 
VOL. VII. 
169 
