137 



FAMILY — ALCEDINID^. KINGFISHERS. 



As there is only one species of the familj' in Canada the description 

 given under the species will serve for the family. 



390. Belted Kingfisher, fr. — le martin p^cheur. Ceryle alcyon. L, 13-02. 

 Plate XVII B. 



Distinctions. The great ragged crest and slaty-blue back of the Kingfisher cannot be 

 very well confused with any other American bird. The weak feet, three toes in front, 

 the two outer (Figure 36, p. 24) joined for haK their length, and the peculiar clumsy 

 grasping surfaces are diagnostic of the Kingfishers. 



Field Marks. The ragged crest and large head, general coloration, and habit of sitting 

 motionless on a perch overhangmg the water or diving into it with a splash make the 

 Kingfisher easily recognizable in hfe. 



Nesting. Usually on ground at end of a tunnel driven in the face of an exposed earth 

 bank. 



Distribution. All of North America, breeding wherever found in Canada. 



All frequenters of Canadian waters know the Kingfisher. It sits 

 motionless on a commanding perch over the water watching for the fish 

 below. Suddenly it dashes off, hangs suspended a moment in the air, and 

 then drops with a resounding splash into the water, rising a moment later 

 with a luckless fish in its capacious bill, and is off around the bend of the 

 stream. Within its daily range the Kingfisher knows every perch and 

 branch from which it can get a comprehensive view of its fishing grounds 

 and returns to them again and again. Streams are not its only habitat; 

 it frequents lakes and ponds and even the seashore. The Kingfishers 

 fish sometimes at considerable distances from their nests as they are often 

 seen in country where earth banks such as they require for nesting are 

 few. However, they are adaptable and sometimes use the most unexpected 

 substitutes, such as the earth clinging to the roots of an overturned tree, 

 or the sides of a drainage ditch. 



Economic Status. The Belted Kingfisher lives upon small fish, and 

 whether or not this constitutes a grave economic offence is a question 

 that cannot be answered offhand. The minnows caught by this bird along 

 our larger streams, ponds, or lakes are certainly not of importance, but 

 when Kingfishers frequent small preserved trout streams they may possibly 

 commit rather serious depredations. Their effect on the larger salmon 

 waters is less clear. Ordinarily the fish they take are small perch, shiners, 

 chub, and other minnows that frequent the surface or shallow warm water. 

 The number of young game fish that are taken cannot be great. On waters 

 given to the culture of trout the question is different. The fish taken 

 there are comparatively well grown and even if they are not very numerous 

 the Kingfisher cannot be looked upon with friendly eyes by the angler. 



On the salmon streams the Kingfishers are regarded with strong 

 disfavour and the guardians are usually busy reducing their number with 

 gun and trap on every possible occasion, and even offer bounties upon their 

 heads and nests. How far this is justified is questionable. In many of 

 these streams the fish have little other food than the smaller of their own 

 species. The large fish, except the spring run of breeders, are all busy 

 eating the small ones. The fry evidently live on micro-organisms and 

 plankton, the fingerlings upon the fry, the parr upon the fingerlings, and 

 so on. The fingerlings are those taken by the Kingfishers. Now if the 

 final number of adult salmon depends on the fingerling, if the fingerUng 



