Picanan Birds. 



lOl 



THE BELTED 

 KINGFISHER. 



(Ccryle alcyon.) 



ispida) is certainly the most brilliant of our birds as regards plumage, and though 

 not much can be said for the beauty of its form, there is no more charming sight on 

 our rivers than that of a Kmgfisher speeding along with the sun shining on his 

 plumage. The bird progresses through the air in a straight line, with the bill out- 

 pointed and the wings vigorously beaten, so that the bright blue back is very 

 conspicuous, while, when the bird turns in its flight, the chestnut of the under parts is 

 also perceptible. As it flies it utters an occasional shrill and unmusical note. The 

 food of the Kingfisher consists almost entirely offish, though small crustaceans and 

 insects are also sometimes eaten. A hole is tunnelled out by the birds themselves 

 in a sandy bank, and at the end of this tunnel the eggs are laid in a kind of chamber. 

 The eggs are pure white, from five to seven in number, and are at first laid on the 

 bare floor of the chamber, but they gradually get 

 surrounded by the debris of fish-bones and the 

 castings thrown up by the old birds. 



This North American species 

 is said to have been shot in 

 Ireland on two occasions, viz. : — 

 in October and November, 1845. 

 It differs from our Common Kingfisher in being 

 much larger, and in having quite a long tail. 

 Whereas in Alcedo ispida the only difterence 

 between the male and female is in the red base 

 to the lower mandible of the female, in the 

 genus Cervle the males differ from the female 

 in colour, and the former has one grey band across 

 the breast, while the female has a grey, as well as 

 a rufous band on the lower parts. The habits of 

 the Belted Kingfisher do not differ from those 

 of our own Kingfisher. 



Although in many characters, both osteological and external, 

 the Rollers have strong affinities with the Kingfishers and Bee- 

 eaters, especially in the way in whicb the toes are united together, 

 the_v have a very peculiar and Crow-like bill, quite different from 

 the slender and pointed bills of the other groups. The\' are an old-world group of 

 birds and are spread over the greater part of the Eastern Hemisphere. 



This splendidly plumaged bird is only an occasional visitor 

 to Britain, but it has been recorded more than a hundred times. 

 Its bright colour renders it easily recognisable, and it has a curious 

 habit of tumbling in the air, whence it gets its name of ' Roller.' 

 It has a harsh note like that of a Crow, and lays its four or six 

 white eggs in the hole of a tree or building, and sometimes e.xcavates holes for 



The Belted Kingfisher. 



THE ROLLERS. 



Sub-Order 



COR AC I.E. 



THE COMMON 

 ROLLER. 

 (Coracias 

 garridus.) 



