the kingfisher 125 



Order Halcyones. 



Legs and feet weak, the outer toe united to the middle one for 

 half its length. 



Fa inily A Icedinidae . 



Bill, long, strong, and jiointed, not serrated. Wings and tail 

 rounded. 



Found over the whole world. 



Genus Halcyon. 



Bill compressed. Second feather of the wing longest, the 

 secondaries nearly as long as the primaries. Tail with twelve 

 feathers, longer than the bill; rounded at the end. Eye, black. 

 Africa, Southern Asia, and Australia. 



The Kingfisher. — Kotare. 

 Halcyon vagans. 



Top of the head and upper part of the back, green; lower back, 

 bright greenish blue. Wings and tail, dark blue. Under parts and a 

 band round the neck, buffy white. Generally there are some brown 

 markings on the breast. Length of the wing, 4 in.; of the tarsus, 0.5 in. 

 The young are brown above, with a few white feathers on the back of the 

 neck. Wing coverts tipped with yellow. Some of the breast feathers 

 broadly margined with brown. Egg — White ; length 1".2 in. Both Islands, 

 Norfolk Island, and Lord Howe Island. 



Sitting on a bough that stretches out over a stream, watching 

 the waters beneath, and wrapped up, apparently, in a brown 

 study, the kingfisher often spends hours together. He seems 

 to have no more serious business on hand than to display his 

 gaudy coat of many colours in the sun. Suddenly, however, all 

 outward signs of mental inactivity vanish. A few rapid strokes 

 of the wings, and, with his spear-like bill thrust well forward, and 

 his wings tucked in, he darts through the air, a living flash of 

 light, touches the surface of the water, and secures the fish for 

 which he has waited so long. A sudden twist, a few more rapid 

 strokes of the wings, and he returns to land with his prey, knocks 

 it on a stone or other hard substance until it is dead, or squeezes 



