Part 119

271. ALCYONE CYANOPECTUS (Lafresnaye).

BLUE-BREASTED KINGFISHER.

Ceyx cyanopectus Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool. (1840), 33; McGregor, Bur. Govt. Labs. (1905), 25, 13, pl. 10. Ceyx cyanipectus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 185; Hand-List (1900), 2, 53; Bourns and Worcester, Ibis (1895), 404; Minnesota Acad. Nat. Sci. Occ. Papers (1894), 1, 48. Ceyx steerii Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 187. Alcyone cyanipectus Grant, Ibis (1895), 112, 464; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 385. Alcyone cyanopectus McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 52.

Sal-pac', Ticao and Masbate.

Luzon (Cuming, Heriot, Möllendorff, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Ticao (McGregor).

Male.--Lores orange-chestnut; sides of face, crown, and occiput deep blue, the feathers tipped with silvery cobalt; back, rump, and tail-coverts silvery cobalt; scapulars black, widely edged with dark blue; wings black, secondaries edged with dark blue; secondary-coverts dark blue, each feather with a spot of silvery cobalt; a large spot of orange-chestnut on side of neck; throat orange-chestnut, much paler on chin; middle of abdomen and a large spot on center of breast orange-chestnut; rest of under parts deep ultramarine-blue and forming two bands across the breast; axillars and wing-lining orange-chestnut; tail dark blue. A male from Mindoro measures: Length, 145; wing, 60; tail, 23; exposed culmen, 35.

Female.--Similar to the male, but all the lower parts deep orange-chestnut except the pale throat and a single dark blue band across the breast. A female from Mindoro measures: Length, 152; wing, 61; tail, 23; exposed culmen, 35.

"We found A. cyanopectus abundantly in Masbate. In Sibuyan it was much more rare. It is to be found along the banks of small fresh-water streams, which it is extremely loath to leave. In Sibuyan one specimen was seen in a mangrove swamp. We never met with it away from water. Legs, feet, and nails scarlet; upper mandible black, lower red; food (in one case) fish.

"Eight males average, 138 in length; wing, 58; tail, 22; culmen, 39; tarsus, 9; middle toe with claw, 17. Seven females average, 142 in length; wing, 60; tail, 22; tarsus, 9; middle toe with claw, 17; culmen, 39." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

272. ALCYONE ARGENTATA (Tweeddale).

SILVERY KINGFISHER.

Ceyx argentata Tweeddale, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1877), 20, (4), 533; Proc. Zool. Soc. (1878), pl. 6, 108; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 187; Hand-List (1900), 2, 53. Alcyone argentata McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 52.

Basilan (Bourns & Worcester); Dinagat (Everett); Mindanao (Everett, Koch & Schadenberg, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Goodfellow, Celestino).

Adult.--Sexes similar; upper parts, wings, and sides of head black; bases of loral feathers white; sides of crown from above eyes to nape with small white spots; back, rump, and upper tail-coverts white, resulting from the wide tips to the feathers; white tip of each feather preceded by a light blue bar which is more or less concealed; a large white patch on each side of neck; chin, throat, and fore breast pure white, forming a well-defined patch; thighs and middle of abdomen white; remainder of under parts black, the breast and sides of abdomen strongly washed with blue; greater secondary-coverts with white tips; edge of wing and most of wing-lining white; axillars black. "Eyes black, feet red; nails and bill black." (Celestino.) A male from northern Mindanao is 152 in length; wing, 64; tail, 27; culmen from base, 41; tarsus, 10. A female from the same region is 150 in length; wing, 60; tail, 22; culmen from base, 39; tarsus, 10.

In some specimens the white patch behind ear-coverts is washed with buff and some of the median secondary-coverts are tipped with pale blue. These characters are probably due to immaturity.

"We obtained four specimens in Mindanao and one in Basilan; it is extremely rare in the latter island, at least in the portion over which we collected. Like A. cyanopectus and A. nigrirostris it is invariably found along the banks of wooded streams."

"Iris very dark brown; legs and feet scarlet, much darker in some specimens than in others; nails red to black. Three males from Mindanao measure, 145 in length; wing, 59; tail, 21; culmen, 39; tarsus, 9; middle toe with claw, 15. A female from Basilan measures, 143 in length; wing, 61; tail, 28; culmen, 39; tarsus, 9; middle toe with claw, 16." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

273. ALCYONE FLUMENICOLA (Steere).

STEERE'S RIVER KINGFISHER.

Ceyx flumenicola Steere, List. Birds & Mams. Steere Exped. (1890), 10. Ceyx fluminicola Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 187; Hand-List (1900), 2, 53. Alcyone fluminicola McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 53.

Leyte (Everett, Steere Exp., Whitehead); Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead).

"Adult male.--Similar to C. argentata, but differing in having the breast and sides of body black, washed with ultramarine or purplish blue. 'Bill black; legs and feet scarlet, the nails brown; iris brown.' (Worcester.) Length, 127; culmen, 37; wing, 61; tail, 23; tarsus, 10.

"Adult female.--Similar to the male in color. Length, 140; culmen, 37; wing, 58; tail, 22; tarsus, 9.

"The specimen from Leyte is more ultramarine on the breast than those from Samar, which incline to purplish blue; but Steere unites the birds from the two islands, and thus the Leyte specimen in the Museum may be immature, especially as it has the throat and abdomen tinged with buff. This last character Steere considers to be specific, but I feel sure that it is a sign of immaturity." (Sharpe.)

"We had scant faith in Steere's C. flumenicola before our return to the Philippines. But one specimen of C. argentata was collected by the Steere Expedition, and that was so shot to pieces that the differences between it and C. flumenicola were not in evidence to any great extent. The examination of a good series of specimens from Mindanao and Basilan has, however, convinced us that the Samar-Leyte birds are quite distinct.

"The blue of the under parts affords the best means of distinguishing the species, being much darker in the northern birds. The under wing-coverts in the southern birds are white; in the northern birds they are almost invariably light buff. All of our specimens from the south have pure white throats, while the northern birds usually have the white of the throat washed with buff. This last character is not of a very satisfactory nature, however, as the northern birds show a great deal of individual variation in this respect. This variation is independent of the sex; nor does it seem to be, as Dr. Sharpe thinks, a sign of immaturity, young birds in some cases having very little of the color. C. flumenicola is always found along the wooded banks of streams where it perches over the water.

"Iris very dark brown; legs and feet bright scarlet; nails usually blackish; bill black. Food, in one case, small crabs. Eight males measure, 136 in length; wing, 56; tail, 23; culmen, 36; tarsus, 8; middle toe with claw, 20. Five females measure, 139 in length; wing, 57; tail, 23; culmen, 34; tarsus, 9; middle toe with claw, 16." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

274. ALCYONE NIGRIROSTRIS (Bourns and Worcester).