Society for the Protection of Birds. 
EDUCATIONAL SERIES. Edited by H. E. DRESSER, F.L.S., F.Z.S. 
No. 5.—KINGFISHER.,. 
by oi EDWARD GREY, Bart. M.P. 
KINGFISHER. 
I. Name.—KINGFISHER. 
Family—Alcedinide. 
Genus—Alcedo. Alcedo ispida. Kingfisher, 
II. General Description. 
Adult male: Head, wings, and moustache, dark greenish blue, slightly mottled with 
dirty white; back, azure blue witha faint greenish tinge; tail, dark blue; throat, white ; 
lower ear coverts and under parts chestnut; bill, orange on the basal part, but otherwise 
blackish ; feet reddish brown. Total length, 7 inches; wing, 3 inches. Female: Somewhat 
duller and greener in tone of colour than the male. Young: Resembles the female, but is 
even duller in tone of colour, and the bill is entirely black 
III. Where, when, and in what numbers found. 
The Kingfisher is resident and very generally distributed throughout England and 
Scotland, but becomes rarer in the northern part of the latter country, and is found also in 
Illustration by kind permission of Messrs. Longmans, Green, & Co., from ‘British Birds,’ by 
Mr. W. H. Hudson. 
