TANYSIPTERA NIGRICEPS, Sclater.. 
Black-headed Tanysiptera. 
Tanysiptera nigriceps, Sclater, P. Z. S. 1877, p. 105. — Salvadori, Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov, x. p. 303. 
Writing in 1871, the late Mr. Blyth insisted strongly on the fact that the Cape-York Peninsula of Australia 
ought to be united in a zoo-geographical sense to the Papuan subregion as we now understand it. The 
main reason was, of course, the presence of a Cassowary in the above-named peninsula ; but, in addition to 
this, there are also some very remarkable forms of birds which are of a Papuan type and were known to 
occur only in New Guinea and in the north-eastern peninsula of Australia, such, for instance, as Pitta 
mackloti and Tanysiptera sylvia. It is more particularly of the latter that I would now speak. 
The last-named beautiful Kingfisher, which I had the pleasure of describing as long ago as 1850, differed 
at once from all the other Tanysiptera; in its fawn-coloured under surface ; and for many years it was a very 
rare bird in European museums. More recently, however, numerous specimens have been collected in the 
Cape-York Peninsula, and forwarded to this country ; but its occurrence in New Guinea was until lately 
somewhat conjectural. All doubt on this point has now been set at rest by the researches of Signor 
D’ Albertis, who procured two specimens in Hall Bay, in South-eastern New Guinea; for, although Count 
Salvadori mentioned to me certain differences of plumage observable in the New-Guinea birds, I believe that 
these are not any of specific importance, and that they are indications of immaturity in the examples 
examined by him. 
Now, as most of my readers are aware, there lie to the eastward of New Guinea certain large and impor- 
tant islands (New Britain, New Ireland, and the Solomon Islands) ; and the more we know of the zoology 
of these islands the more do we see that their fauna is Papuan in its character, having little in common with 
Australia or with Oceania. Of New Britain and New Ireland we know very little ornithologically ; but our 
knowledge has been increased during the past twelve months by the very interesting investigations of Mr. 
George Brown, C.M.Z.S., who sent a collection of birds from the above-named localities and from Dukc-of- 
York Island to Dr. Sclater, by whom an account of the collection has been published in the * Proceedings of 
the Zoological Society’ for 1877. The specimens themselves have now become the property of the Marquis 
of Tweeddale, to whom I am indebted for the opportunity of figuring some of the most interesting novelties. 
Most of the species sent by Mr. Brown are either Papuan or at least are closely allied to New-Guinea species ; 
and it was highly interesting to find in the Kingfisher here figured a representative, not of the brilliant blue- 
and-white forms, such as Tanysiptera galatea, T. nais, &c., but of T. sylvia, the Cape-York species. Like 
the latter, it wants the great racket or spatule at the end of the long tail-feathers, such a pronounced feature 
in most of the Tanysipterce, and it has the same tendency to cross these two long rectrices ; in fact it is very 
closely allied to T. sylvia, but is at once recognizable by its black head. 
The following is a description of the type specimen : — 
Head, neck, mantle, and scapulars jet-black, as also the lores, sides of face, and ear-coverts ; in the centre 
of the back a large dorsal patch of white ; rump also white ; upper tail-coverts particoloured, white on the 
inner web, black on the outer one ; lateral tail-feathers black, washed with blue on the outer web ; the 
two long centre feathers white, with slightly dilated ends, the shafts white, the outer edges blue ; the next 
feather on each side black, the shafts black, white for the greater part of the inner web, washed with blue 
on the outer; wings blue, more brilliant on the least coverts adjoining the back, the quills black on the inner 
webs ; cheeks and under surface of body light cinnamon ; the under tail-coverts whitish ; flank-feathers 
somewhat varied with black edgings, as also the thigh-feathers; sides of the lower back black, bordering 
the white rump ; under wing-coverts cinnamon-colour, like the breast, some of the outermost and Greater 
series edged with blackish ; quills dusky below, whitish along the base of the inner web; bill coral-red. 
Total length 11*7 inches, culmen T5, wing 365, tail 7‘ 0, tarsus 06. 
The figure in the Plate is drawn from the typical example, and represents the species of about the natural 
size. 
