202 Amonz the Birds i?i Northern Shires. 



''i> 



plain gray-plumaged bird, but flying towards the 

 sun it became of the same hue as the sky on its 

 upper parts, whilst its lower parts were scorched by 

 the solar rays to the chestnut tint they now are. 

 Fable is also curiously associated with the domestic 

 arrangements of the Kingfisher, mid- winter being 

 given as the date of its reproduction. Ovid tells us 

 that during this period yEolus, the god of wind, 

 exerted his influence, so that the tempests were 

 quieted and the sea remained calm, upon which the 

 floating nest might remain in safety for the seven 

 Halcyon Days. As old Shakespeare has it: 



"This night the siege assuredly I'll raise: 

 Expect Saint Martin's summer, halcyon days". 



— Henry V. 



We also find under the term Halcyon (another name 

 for the Kingfisher) in Minsben's Dictionaiy the fol- 

 lowing quaint passage bearing on this fable: "A 

 bird called also Kingfisher, because she fisheth in 

 the sea, and casteth herself with such force at the 

 fishes. She conceiveth in the sea, and in it she 

 brings forth her young — and that in chill and cold 

 weather; and meanwhile the heaven is serene, and 

 the sea tranquil, nor agitated by troubles of winds. 

 Hence those serene days are called Halcyon-days." 

 Superstition attributed to the Kingfisher not a few 

 virtues. For instance, Lupton, three hundred odd 

 years ago, in a book entitled A Thousand Notable 



