KINGFISHER 



3257 



KINGLET 



However, only in the breeding season does the 

 kingbird act so rudely, and love for its mate 

 and its young prompts such deportment. The 

 nest, made of grass and weeds, is frequently 

 placed in fruit trees. In it are laid three or 

 four eggs, which are pinkish, spotted with 

 brown. This bird has keen sight and is ever 

 on a sharp lookout for insects, which it catches 

 while it is on the wing. Because of fondness 

 for bees it is also called bee martin. 



KING 'FISHER, a family of birds whose dis- 

 tinguishing characteristics are large heads and 

 backward-turning crests, long, pointed bills, 

 short, stubby tails and short legs. Strong mem- 

 branes unite the outer and middle toes. The 

 brilliant colors 

 and fish - eating 

 habits of the 

 birds suggested 

 the name. 



In the large 

 kingfisher family 

 there are two 

 subfamilies, the 

 kinghunters and 

 the true king- 

 fishers. Birds of 

 the first group are 



THE KINGFISHER 



found in Europe, Africa and Asia. In appear- 

 ance they are much like true kingfishers, but 

 differ in habits. They live in woods, often very 

 far from streams, and eat insects and reptiles 

 rather than fish. The second group includes 

 the brilliant little European kingfisher and six 

 American species. Kingfishers are found 

 throughout North America. In the summer 

 time they range from the Arctic Ocean to the 

 Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic to 

 the Pacific. In winter they migrate south of 

 the frost belt. 



The best-known and most widely-distributed 

 American species, the belted kingfisher, is 

 twelve or thirteen inches from the tip of the 

 bill to the end of the tail. The color above 

 is deep blue, or bluish-gray marked with white ; 

 the underparts are white. A broad collar of 

 blue crosses the breast, and the female has 

 besides lines of chestnut-brown which extend 

 along the sides. Anglers may depend upon 

 these birds to know where the fish are plenti- 

 ful. They spend long hours sitting upon 

 branches which extend over a stream, and 

 dashing into the water after small fish that 

 pass their way. They carry the fish back to 

 their branch, knock it soundly to kill it, then 

 toss it into the air, catching it as it comes 



down. If the kingfishers are disturbed they fly 

 off, piercing the air with their harsh, rattling 

 notes. 



Kingfishers dig their nest in the perpendicu- 

 lar walls of clay or sand banks above the high- 

 water mark. The opening is just large enough 

 for one bird. The tunnel is from four to ten 

 feet in length, and is enlarged at the farther 

 end, where they make a nest for the six or 

 eight pure white eggs. Both male and female 

 sit on the eggs, and the little birds hatch in 

 about sixteen days. 



The kingfisher has been identified with the 

 halcyon of ancient fable, which was said to 

 lay its eggs in a nest that floated out to sea. 

 See HALCYON. 



KING GEORGE'S WAR. See FRENCH AND 

 INDIAN WARS. 



KING 'LET, a family of dainty little olive- 

 green birds that flit about rapidly among the 

 leaves and twigs in search of insects. Two 

 species, the ruby-crowned and the golden- 

 crowned, are found in North America, many 

 of the golden-crowned being so rugged that 

 they never fly south in search of a warm cli- 

 mate during the winter. Both birds have gray 

 breasts and short, dusky tails, edged in olive- 

 green like their backs, but their distinguishing 

 feature is their bright crest, the color of which 

 is indicated by their name. 



The ruby-crowned kinglet is fond of warm 

 weather, so in October it flies to Central 



THE KINGLET 



America and Mexico, but returns in the spring 

 to the Northern United States and Canada, 

 filling the air, while on the way, with a rich, 

 lyrical song. Both birds frequent the pine 

 trees, building their hanging, cup-shaped nests 

 of moss, grass and feathers near the tip end 

 of branches. These nests may seem large for 

 the tiny bird, which is only a little over four 

 inches in length, but from six to nine creamy 

 white eggs, with small brown dots, are laid in 

 this cradle, and there must be room for the 

 baby birds. 



