143 

 SUBORDER ALCYONES. KINGFISHERS. 



The Kingfishers form a well-marked group represented in nearly all 

 parts of the world. Though evidently adapted to catching fish some have 

 given up their ancestral habits and watery habitats to live in the woods 

 on insects and earthworms. However, all these departures from type are 

 extralimital and mostly tropical; the well-known Laughing Jackass of 

 Australia is a large aberrant Kingfisher. The North American Kingfishers 

 are all included under one family, Alcedinidce. 



FAMILY ALCEDINID.E. KINGFISHERS. 



As there is only one species of the family in Canada, the description 

 given under the species will serve for the family. 



Genus Ceryle. Kingfishers. 



390. Belted Kingfisher. FR. LB MARTiN-pfccHEtra. Ceryle alcyon. L,13-02. 

 Plate XVII B. 



Distinctions. The great ragged crest and slaty blue back of the Kingfisher cannot be 

 very well confused with any other American bird. The weak feet, three toes in front, 

 the two outer (Figure 36, p. 24) joined for half their length, and the peculiar clumsy 

 grasping surfaces are diagnostic of the Kingfishers. 



Field Marks. The ragged crest and large head, general coloration, a habit of sitting 

 motionless on a perch overhanging the water or diving into it with a splash make the 

 Kingfisher easily recognizable in life. 



Nesting. Usually on the ground at end of a tunnel driven in the face of an exposed 

 earth bank. 



Distribution. All North America, breeding wherever found in Canada. 



All frequenters of Canadian waters know the Kingfisher. It sits 

 motionless on a commanding perch over the water watching for the fish 

 below. Suddenly it dashes off, hangs suspended a moment in the air, and 

 then drops with a resounding splash into the water, rising a moment later 

 with a luckless fish in its capacious bill, and is off around the bend of the 

 stream. Within its daily range the Kingfisher knows every perch and 

 branch from which it can get a comprehensive view of its fishing grounds 

 and returns to them again and again. Streams are not its only habitat; 

 it frequents lakes and ponds and even the seashore. The Kingfishers 

 fish sometimes at considerable distances from their nests, as they are often 

 seen in country where earth banks such as. they require for nesting are 

 few. However, thay are adaptable and sometimes use the most unexpected 

 substitutes, such as the earth clinging to the roots of an overturned tree, 

 or the sides of a drainage ditch. 



Economic Status. The Belted Kingfisher lives upon small fish, and 

 whether or not this constitutes a grave economic offence is a question 

 that cannot be answered offhand. The minnows caught by this bird along 

 our larger streams, ponds, or lakes are certainly not of importance, but 

 when Kingfishers frequent small preserved trout streams they may possibly 

 commit rather serious depredations. Their effect on the larger salmon 

 waters is less clear. Ordinarily the fish they take are small perch, shiners, 

 chub and other minnows that frequent the surface or shallow warm water. 

 The number of young game-fish that ar* taken cannot be great. On waters 

 given to the culture of trout the question is different. The fish taken there 

 are comparatively well grown and, even if they are not very numerous, 

 the Kingfisher cannot be looked upon with friendly eyes by the angler. 



