THE KINGFISHERS 1839 



are African, five Indian, and two Moluccan, while the remaining one is the common, 

 kingfisher, extending all over Europe, and Northwestern Asia, and represented in 

 Siberia and the Oriental region by a smaller and brighter form, sometimes separated, 

 as A. bengalensis. The common kingfisher is a beautiful bird, of a greenish blue 

 color; with the back brilliant cobalt blue; the crown greenish blue banded with, 

 dusky black. Above the lores is a rufous sheath; the ear coverts are orange rufous, 

 succeeded by a band of white feathers on the sides of the neck; the cheeks light 

 blue, with dusky blackish bars; the throat buffy white; the remainder of the under 

 surface rich orange rufous, with a patch of greenish blue on the sides of the upper 

 breast; the bill black; the feet coral red; and the iris brown; the total length being 

 seven and one-half inches. The female, which is a trifle smaller, may be distin- 

 guished by having a red base to the lower mandible. In England, owing to the 

 protection which has been afforded to birds on the Thames and other rivers, the 

 kingfisher is now more often observed than it was a few years ago, when it was 

 much sought after for decorating ladies' bonnets. Especially in the autumn, when 

 a considerable migration takes place, kingfishers may be noticed on the rivers in the 

 south of England, and there are few more beautiful sights than one of these birds 

 skimming over the water. Seated under overhanging willows or on an exposed 

 bough or stump, the kingfisher watches patiently for the approach of its prey, when, 

 it dives like a flash of lightning under the water. It is, however, by no means al- 

 ways successful in capturing the fish, not unfrequently missing its stroke. Some- 

 times it may be seen hovering over the water like a kestrel, and dropping like a 

 stone on a fish, when the fish comes near enough; while at other times it will perch 

 on an overhanging reed, in order to take its dive after its prey. The latter com- 

 prises insects as well as fish; and on the seacoast, where the bird remains for some 

 time before commencing its migration across the channel, the kingfisher will feed on 

 small crabs. Although so exclusively a water bird, at most times of the year, the 

 nest is not unfrequently found at some distance from any river. A few years ago, 

 for instance, we were shown a nest with seven eggs, situated in the middle of a 

 wood bordering the Thames, and fully a quarter of a mile from the water. This 

 distance had to be traversed by the parent birds every time they brought a fish to 

 their young, and it was a curious sight to see one of these brilliant birds flying like 

 a meteor through the green foliage of the trees. The nest had been tunneled under 

 the roots of a fallen tree, which had excavated a deep hole in a sandy bank as it fell; 

 and in this instance the tunnel was by no means straight, but was carried over and 

 under the roots which barred the progress of the bird in a direct line. Dawson 

 Rowley maintained that the kingfisher not only bored its own hole in the banks, but 

 that the fish bones found in the chamber at the end of the tunnel are placed there 

 by the birds with the idea of forming a nest. There is, however, quite as often no- 

 nest whatever, the eggs being laid on the floor of the chamber. 



In Africa the beautiful little crested kingfishers (Corythomis) take the place or 

 the common species. Like the latter, these birds feed on fish and small crustaceans, 

 boring a hole into some sandy bank in which to lay their eggs, which are four or six 

 in number, on a small platform of fish bones. The three-toed Australian kingfishers 

 (Alcyone] seem to have very similar habits. 



