360 



ErraSttrp of Batumi 



improbable. They supposed that it built 

 its nest upon the ocean ; but as this floating 

 cradle would be likely to be destroyed by 

 storms, they endowed the bird with powers 

 to lull the raging of the waves during the 

 period of incubation : hence those tranquil 

 days near the solstice were termed halcyon 

 days ; and that the feathered voyager might 

 want no accomplishment, they attributed to 

 i f , the charm of song. They also kept the 

 dead body of the bird as a safeguard against 

 thunder, and as a relic by which the peace 

 of families would be preserved. But it is 

 not to the fanciful genius of the ancients 

 alone that this bird is indebted for wonderful 

 attributes. The Tartars and Ostiaks preserve 

 the skin about their persons as an amulet 

 against every ill ; and they consider that the 

 feathers have magic influence, when properly 

 used, in securing a female's love : nor are 

 such superstitions entirely confined to bar- 

 barous nations ; for there are persons, it is 

 said, who believe that if the body of a King- 

 fisher be suspended by a thread, its breast, 

 by some magnetic influence, will invariably 

 turn to the north. 



We shall now endeavour to point out, in 

 the briefest manner possible, some of the 

 other most important species. The GIANT 

 KINGFISHER. (Dacelo gigantea.) This is the 

 largest species known, measuring eighteen 

 inches from the tip of the bill to the end of 

 the tail : the colour of the plumage chiefly 

 composed of olive-brown and a pale blue- 

 green. Native of Australia. PIED KING- 

 FISHER. (Alcedo rudis.) Size of the song- 

 thrush. The plumage chiefly party-coloured 

 of black and white. Native of various parts 

 of Asia and Africa SMYRNA KINGMSHEK. 

 (Alcedo Smyrnensis). Size of the missel- 

 thrush. A most brilliantly coloured bird ; 

 the bright blue of the wings yielding in lustre 

 to none of the feathered tribes. Native of 

 the hotter parts of both Africa and Asia 

 SACKED KINGFISHER. (Alcedo sacra.) Crown 

 of the head and upper parts blue-green ; the 

 throat white ; the under parts pale ferrugi- 

 nous, passing upwards like a collar round 

 the neck. Native of the South Sea Islands. 

 CRESTED KINGFISHER. (Alcedo cristata.) 

 A singularly brilliant and elegant species. 

 The crown of the head covered with long 

 blue-green feathers, barred with black, form 

 a crest ; the back, wings, and tail are of an 

 exceeding fine ultramarine blue ; the breast, 

 belly, thighs, and covert-feathers under the 

 tail are of a bright orange-colour ; and the legs 

 scarlet. Native of Madagascar. The next 

 species demands a more lengthened notice. 



The AMERICAN or BELTED KINGFISHER. 

 (Alcedo alcyon.) This species is distin- 

 guished by being of a bluish slate-colour, 

 with a ferruginous band on the breast ; having 

 a large collar of pure white round the neck ; 

 and an elevated crest on the head : legs 

 extremely short. It inhabits all parts of the 

 North American continent, and is the only 

 species of its tribe found within the United 

 States. " Like the love-lorn swains, of whom 

 poets tell us," says Wilson, " he delights in 

 murmuring streams and falling waters ; not, 

 however, merely that they may soothe his 



ear, but for a gratification somewhat more 

 substantial. Amidst the roar of the cataract, 

 or over the foam of a torrent, he sits perched 

 upon an overhanging bough, glancing his 

 piercing eye in every direction below for Ms 



scaly prey, which, with a sudden circular 

 plunge, he sweeps from their native element, 

 and swallows in an instant. His voice, which 

 is not unlike the twirling of a watchman's 

 rattle, is naturally loud, harsh, and sudden ; 

 but is softened by the sound of the brawling 

 streams and cascades among which he gene- 

 rally rambles. He courses along the windings 

 of the brook or river, at a small height above 

 the surface, sometimes suspending himself 

 by the rapid action of his wings, like certain 

 species of hawks, ready to pounce on the fry 

 below ; now and then settling on an old 

 dead overhanging limb to reconnoitre. Mill- 

 dams are particularly visited by this fea- 

 thered fisher ; and the sound of his pipe is as 

 well known to the miller, as the rattling of 

 his own hopper. Rapid streams, with high 

 perpendicular banks, particularly if they be 

 of a hard clayey or sandy nature, are also 

 favourite places of resort for this bird ; not 

 only because in such places the small fish 

 are more exposed to view, but because those 

 steep and dry banks are the chosen situations 

 for his nest. Into these he digs with bill and 

 claws horizontally, sometimes to the extent 

 of four or five feet, at the distance of a foot 

 or two from the surface. The few materials 

 he takes in are not always placed at the ex- 

 tremity of the hole, that he and his mate 

 may have room to turn with convenience. 

 The eggs are five, pure white, and the first 

 brood usually comes out about the beginning 

 of June, and sometimes sooner, according to 

 the part of the country where they reside. 

 They are very tenacious of their haunts, 

 breeding for several successive years in the 

 same hole, and do not readily forsake it, 

 even though it be visited." 



It is this species that Mr. Gosse, in his 

 " Birds of Jamaica," thus prettily descrioes : 

 " Where the mangrove or the sea-grape 

 stretches its branches down to the water's 

 edge, stopping the way along the yellow 

 beach, the Kingfisher delights to resort, sit- 

 ting on a projecting twig ; here he waits 

 patiently for the approach of some small 



