HALCYON NIGROCYANEA, Wallace , 
Black and Blue Kingfisher. 
Halcyon nigrocyanea, Wallace, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 165, pi. xix. — Gray, Hand-list of Birds, i. p. 93(1869). — 
Sharpe, Monogr. Alced. p. 201, pi. 75 (1870). — Beccari, Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov, vii. p. 708 (1875). 
Dacelo nigrocyanea, Schlegel, Nederl. Tydschr. Dierk. iii. p. 250 (1865). 
Cyanalcyon nigrocyanea, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov, x. p. 127 (1877). — Id. op. cit. p. 305 (1877). 
The present species is the finest of the little group of Kingfishers to which the generic title of Cyanalcyon 
has been applied, and which includes Halcyon macleayi of Australia, Halcyon diops of the Moluccas, II. lazuli 
of Ceram and Amboina, H. leucopygia of the Solomon Islands, and lastly the beautiful species from the 
Fly River, H. stictoloema, which I figure in the present part. I do not wish to deny for a moment that the 
little group above enumerated does not constitute a distinct genus or, rather, subgenus ; but for the sake of 
uniformity I keep the species in the genus Halcyon, in which the allied species have been included in all 
my former works. 
Mr. Wallace originally discovered the subject of these remarks in North-western New Guinea, but only 
managed to procure a single hen bird, which was figured in the * Proceedings ’ of the Zoological Society, 
and, again, in Mr. Sharpe’s £ Monograph of the Alcedhudec ( The latter work contained a representation also 
of the male sex, which had been collected by Von Rosenberg at Andei, and was in the Museum at Leiden. 
Since the year 1870 more examples have been procured by the travellers to New Guinea ; and Count 
Salvador! enumerates fourteen specimens as belonging to the Civic Museum at Genoa or examined by him 
during his study of the Papuan Kingfishers. The localities given by him are Dorei (Bruijn), Andei (Von 
Rosenberg, D' Albertis, Bruijn), Warbusi (Beccari), Sorong (Bernstein, Bruijn), Batanta (Beccari, Bruijn). 
These localities are all situated on the mainland of North-western New Guinea, or are islands closely adjacent 
to the N.W. peninsula. Beccari found it nowhere common ; but beyond this we know nothing of its habits ; 
these, however, without doubt are similar to those of other species of the genus Halcyon. 
The following descriptions are taken from Mr. Bowdler Sharpe’s Monograph of the Kingfishers : — 
“ Adult male. Head intense ultramarine, brighter on the sides, a line of brilliant ultramarine commencing 
at the back of each eye and encircling the nape ; middle of the back and scapulars deep velvety black, a 
blue lustre being apparent here and there on the latter; wing-coverts deep ultramarine, the innermost 
greater coverts more brilliant, inclining to cobalt ; quills black, the outer web washed with deep ultra- 
marine ; lower portion of the hack and rump brilliant cobalt ; upper tail-coverts deep ultramarine ; tail 
deep ultramarine above, black beneath, cheeks and ear-coverts jet black ; chin dusky black ; throat and a 
narrow band across the centre of the breast white; rest of the under surface of the body deep ultramarine, 
becoming black on the sides of the body and lower abdomen ; under wing-coverts black ; bill black, yellow 
at the extreme base; feet black. Total length 8-5 inches, culmen T9, wing 35, tail 2*8, tarsus 0*5. 
“ Adult female. Upper surface as in the male. Entire under surface white, with the exception of a broad 
pectoral band of deep ultramarine ; sides of the body black ; under wing-coverts black ; some white ; bill 
black, with more yellow on the under mandible than the male. Total length 9 inches, culmen T9, win"- 3(j 
tail 2'8, tarsus 0 - 5.” 
The specimens figured in the accompanying Plate are in my own collection. They represent the male 
and female of the natural size. 
