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The Birds of Australia, Vol. 2 of 7 cover

The Birds of Australia, Vol. 2 of 7

Chapter 25: HALCYON SORDIDUS, Gould. Sordid Halcyon.
By John Gould
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About This Book

A richly illustrated natural-history volume presenting systematic accounts of Australian birds, pairing hand-colored plates with detailed descriptions of plumage, variation, behavior, habitats, distribution, and eggs. Entries cover nightjars, podarguses, swifts, swallows, kingfishers, pardalotes, shrike-thrushes and numerous other passerine and non-passerine groups, noting diagnostic features, synonymy, and range. The text discusses variation within species, field observations, and comparisons to related taxa, and provides locality records and brief natural-history notes to assist identification and study.

HALCYON SORDIDUS, Gould.
Sordid Halcyon.

Halcyon sordidus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 72.

I possess two specimens of this species of Halcyon, which were killed by Mr. Bynoe on the north coast of Australia; unfortunately they were unaccompanied by any information respecting their habits and economy; they appear to be fully adult, and equal in size the Halcyon collaris,—a species, which, although said to be Australian, I have no authentic evidence of its ever having been killed therein.

Head, back, scapularies and wing-coverts brownish oil-green; wings greenish blue, gradually changing into green on the tips of the tertiaries; collar round the back of the neck and all the under surface buffy white; tail greenish blue; upper mandible and tip of the lower one black; base of the latter flesh-white.

The figures are of the natural size.