189 

 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS EGGS. 



KINGFISHERS. Family ALCEDINID/E. 



390. Belted Kingfisher. Ceryle alcyon. 



Range. Whole of North America, breeding from southern United States, 

 northward and wintering from the southern parts of its breeding range, south- 

 ward. 



This well known bird is abundant in all localities 

 near water, where its rattling notes are among the 

 most familiar of sounds. Their food is almos tentire- 

 ly of small fish, which they catch by plunging upon 

 from their perch on an old dead limb overhanging the 

 water, or by hovering in the air like an Osprey. 

 Their nests are located at the end of burrows in sand 

 banks or the banks of creeks and rivers. These tun- 

 nels, which are dug by the birds, generally commence 

 two or three feet from the top of the bank and extend 

 back from six to eight feet, either in a straight line or 

 curved; the end is enlarged to form a suitable nesting 

 place, in which from five to eight eggs are laid. They are glossy and pure 

 white in color. Size 1.35 x 1.05. Data. Lake Quinsigamond, Massachusetts, 

 June 6, 1900. 7 eggs at the end of a six foot tunnel in a sand bank. Bird re- 

 moved by hand from the nest. Collector, C. E. Howe. 



[390.1]. Ringed Kingfisher. Ceryle torquata. 



Range. Mexico, north casually to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. 



This handsome species is much larger than the Belted Kingfisher and the 

 underparts are nearly all bright chestnut, except the white throat. They nest in 

 river banks the same as the common American species, and the eggs are white, 

 but larger. Size 1.45 x 1.10. 



391. Texas Kingfisher. Ceryle americana septentrional!*. 



Range. Southern Texas, south through Mexico. 



This variety is much smaller than the Belted, length 8 inches, and is a lus- 

 trous greenish above, variously specked with white, and is white below, spotted 

 with greenish. It is a common and resident species in southern Texas, where 

 it lays its eggs in holes in the banks along streams. The eggs are white and 

 glossy, and measure .95 x .70. 



