ALC 



ah easy prey. They sometimes at sea 

 mistake a ship for a roosting place, and 

 thus warn navigators of their being' near 

 the land, at the access of night, or on the 

 approach of storms. 



A. cirrhata, tufted auk of Pennant and 

 Latham, is entirely black, nearly 18 inches 

 long, swimming about for whole clays in 

 the sea, where it dives well, and occasion- 

 ally flics swiftly, but never departing far 

 from the rocks and islands, and feeding on 

 shrimps, crabs, and other shell-fish, which 

 it forces from the rocks with its strong 

 bill ; in the night it comes to shore, bur- 

 rows about a yard deep under ground, 

 and makes a nest with feathers and sea- 

 weed, in which it lodges with its mate, 

 being monogamous. It lays one egg in 

 May or June, which is fit to be eaten and 

 used for food, but the flesh of the bird is 

 hard and insipid. This species inhabits 

 the shores of Kamtschatka, the Kurile 

 islands, and those that lie between Kamts- 

 chatka and America. 



'A. arctica, or puffin, found on the 

 coasts of England; and particularly in 

 I'restholm isle, where they are seen in 

 flocks almost innumerable. They come 

 in the beginning of April, and depart in 

 August. Fig. 3. 



ALCEA, hollyhock, in botany, a genus 

 of the Monadelphia Polyandria class of 

 plants, the calyx of which is a double pe- 

 rianthium ; the exterior one, which is 

 permanent, consists of a single p.\tent 

 leaf, divided into six segments; the inte- 

 rior is also permanent, and consists of a 

 single leaf divided into five segments : 

 the corolla consists of five very large 

 patent and emarginated petals, growing 

 together at the base : the fruit is compo- 

 sed of numerous capsules, each contain- 

 ing a single compressed kidney-shaped 

 seed. There are five species. The liol- 

 lyhock grows wild in the country of Nice. 

 The colour of the flowers is accidental, 

 and the double flowers are only varieties 

 proceeding from culture. These varie- 

 ties are not constant; but the greatest 

 number of plants, produced from seeds 

 carefully saved from the most double 

 flowers, will arise nearly the same with 

 the plants from which they are taken, 

 provided they are kept separate from sin- 

 gle or bad coloured flowers. The A. ro- 

 sea grows naturally in Cliina; a dwarf 

 sort, with beautiful double variegated 

 flowers, has been some years in great 

 esteem, under the name of the Chinese 

 hollyhock. Hollyhocks are propagated 

 from seeds, sown half an inch deep in a 

 bed of light earth, about the, middle of 



ALC 



April. When the plants have put ouf su . 

 or eight leaves, they are to be transplant- 

 ed into nursery beds, and in October thev 

 are to be removed to the situation whert - 

 they are to remain. 



ALCEDO, kings/fuller, in ornithology, a 

 genus of the order of Pics. The charac- 

 ters are, that the bill is three-sided, thick, 

 straight, long, and pointed; the tongue 

 is fleshy, very short, flat, and sharp, and 

 the feet are for the most part gressory. 

 There are 41 species. These birds are 

 dispersed over the whole globe, inhabit- 

 ing chiefly the water, and living upon 

 fish, which they catch with surprising 

 alertness, and sv /allow whole, rejecting 

 afterwards the undigested parts ; though 

 their wings are short, they fly swiftly; 

 their prevailing colour is sky blue ; their 

 nostrils are small, and generally covered. 

 A. ispida, ispida of Gesner and Ray, Eu- 

 ropean kingsfisher of Pennant, and com- 

 mon kingsfisher of Latham, is the only one 

 we shall notice: it is short-tailed, sky- 

 blue above, fulvous below, and its straps 

 are rufous. This bird is 7 inches long 

 and 11 broad, of a clumsy shape, the head 

 and bill being very large, and the legs 

 disproportionately small. The kingsfish- 

 er frequents the banks of rivers, and 

 feeds on fish. It takes its prey somewhat 

 in the manner of the osprey, balancing 

 itself at a certain distance over the water 

 for some time, and then darting below 

 the surface, brings the prey up in its feet. 

 When it remains suspended in the air, in 

 a bright day, the plumage exhibit a most 

 beautiful variety of the most dazzling and 

 brilliant colours. It makes its nest in 

 holes in the sides of the cliffs, which it 

 scoops to the depth of three feet, and 

 lays from three to nine eggs, of a very 

 beautiful semi-transparent white. The 

 nest is very ftrtid, on account of the re- 

 fuse offish with which the young are fed. 

 It begins to hatch its young early in the 

 season, and excludes the first brood in 

 the beginning of April. Whilst the fe- 

 male is thus employed, the male is unre- 

 mitting in h's attention, supplying his 

 mate with fish in such abundance, that 

 she is found at this season plump and fat. 

 He ceases to twitter at this time, and en- 

 ters the nest as quietly and privately as 

 possible. The youngare hatched in about 

 20 days; but differ both in size and beau- 

 ty. Some have even doubted, whether 

 the kingsfisher of the moderns and the 

 alcyon of the ancients are the same bird. 

 But the description of Aristotle sufficient- 

 ly identifies them. The alcyon, says that 

 philosopher, is not much larger ihn ?. 



