Alcedo 21 



Kingfishers, of which there are two sorts, is fond of 

 watersides : one is a vocal bird, which sits on reeds, 

 the other, which is of a larger size, is mute. The 

 back is blue in both. The Kingfisher, however, also 

 haunts the sea. 



PLINY. 



This bird is little bigger than the Passer, for the 

 most part blue in colour, with the wings alone of 

 purple mixed with white, and with a long and slender 

 neck. Each of the two kinds may be distinguished 

 by its size and voice. The lesser sing in reed-beds. 

 It is very rare to see the Halcyon, and this occurs 

 only towards the setting of the Pleiades and near the 

 solstice or in winter-time, when, after circling round 

 the ship awhile, it hurriedly departs again to its 

 retreat. They breed in winter, at the season called 

 the Halcyon days 1 , wherein the sea is calm and fit for 

 navigation, the Sicilian sea particularly so. Elsewhere 

 indeed the ocean is less boisterous. The Sicilian is 

 certainly gentle enough. Now these birds build their 

 nests in the seven days before the winter solstice, 

 and hatch out their young in the seven following. 

 Their nests compel our wonder, of a ball-like shape, 

 with a small jutting part and very narrow hole, 

 like sponges of great size ; they cannot be cut open 

 with an iron tool, but may be broken by a vigorous 

 blow, as dry sea-foam 2 may be. It is not known 

 of what these are composed. Some think of pointed 

 bones, since the birds live on fish. They also dive 

 in rivers, and lay five eggs each. 



1 For the origin of this ancient tradition, the reader may be referred 

 to any work dealing with Greek mythology. 



2 By 'dry sea-foam' Pliny probably meant masses of whelks' eggs. 



