452 



PICARIyE. 



ALCEDINIU^. 



ALCEDTNID^ 



Ceryle alcyon (Linnaeus*). 



THE BELTED KINGFISHER. 



Alcedo alcyon. 



Ceryle, F. Boief. — Bill long, hard, straight and acute, with a longitudinal 

 groove on each side of the culmen. Nostrils basal, oblique and nearly closed by 

 a bare membrane. Head crested. Wings moderately pointed, of ten primaries ; 

 the second and third nearly equal and longest, the first shorter than the fourth. 

 Tail moderate, of twelve rectrices. Tibiae bare below ; tarsi short ; toes three 

 before, one behind, the middle united to the outer toe as far as the second joint, 

 and to the inner as far as the first joint; hind toe much shorter than the inner. 



Two examples of this bird occurred, says Thompson (Ann. 

 Nat. Hist. xvi. p. 430, xvii. p. 69, and B. Irel. i. p. 373) in 



* Alcedo alcyon, Linnasus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 180 (1766). 

 t Isis, 1828, p. 316. 



