Kingfishers. 



Order, Coccyges. 

 Family, Alcedinidae. 



390. BELTED KINGFISHER. Ceryle Alcyon. Twelve inches 

 long. Long crest on head. Bluish-gray above, white below. White 

 spot in front of eye. White collar and blue-gray band across the 

 breast. Large head with long, strong bill for catching fishes. Eggs 

 white. Nests in a hole in the ground near water. 



BELTED KINGFISHER. 



This is the famous "Halcyon" that built a floating nest upon 

 the sea and had the power of making fair weather wherever the 

 nest floated. Those were "halcyon days" according to the fable. 



Really the truth about its nest is this. Into a hole in the bank 

 by the side of a stream, that looks as though it had been the home 

 of a water rat, our halcyon creeps and there belches forth fish 

 bones and fish scales that were not digested. These are gathered 

 for a nest that would make you think that he has no sense of smell. 

 Possibly with a view to concealing his disgorged pellets so that they 

 will not betray his whereabouts to his enemies, he went within and 

 finally made use of them for nest material. 



The kingfisher is pretty in the air for he sails along with even 

 flight and has the air of knowing where he is going and of having 

 an errand at the end of his journey. He catches his fish with his 

 strong beak and his presence is an evidence that there are fishes 

 in the stream nearby. They are not necessarily good ones nor large 

 ones, for all fishes look alike to him. 



Speaking of fish-tackling, the kingfisher will often tackle one 

 far too large for him, but unlike the merganser, he will throw it out 

 and try it over and over until it goes down. The merganser swal- 

 lows his as far as he can and lets the end of it digest while his 

 mouth is stopped up for an hour or so with the body of the un- 

 swallowed fish. 



If the kingfisher's squawk may be called a song or even music, 



