XXXVI 



KINGFISHEB ; BELTED KINGFISHER 

 390. Ceryle alcyon 



This bird is such a regular summer resident along 

 all small streams that merely to mention its name is to 

 convey to the mind exactly what it looks like, its size 

 and its general habits. It is about thirteen inches long, 

 and is colored in a general way something like a Blue Jay, 

 with crested head and white collar, and is of a general 

 bluish color with white breast. I have met species of 

 these birds from the Aleutian Islands to the City of 

 Mexico. 



For a nesting site the Kingfisher selects the bank 

 of a creek or a soft earth bluff. Two or three feet from 

 the surface it makes a burrow extending from six to eight 

 feet underground. The entrance to this tunnel usually 

 has two grooves marking the place where the bird 

 dragged its feet in backing out. Frequently, an extra 

 burrow a few inches deep and close to the main tunnel 

 is made. At the end of the main tunnel a cavity fifteen 

 inches across is excavated for the future nest. No nest- 

 ing material is carried into this dark recess. Like their 

 remote ancestors, the alligators, these birds are tunnel 

 diggers and cave dwellers. They will work for days 

 excavating their homes, but waste no time upholstering 

 the interiors. 



In each of these gloomy cavities are laid from five to 

 seven pure white eggs and here are hatched an equal 

 number of the ugliest looking young kings that ever ruled 

 a kingdom. (Fig. 53.) In their dark and dingy restricted 

 chamber they remain for several weeks before the glories 

 of the out-of-doors, with its sunshine and fresh air, be- 

 come their domain. Before this time the pale blue of 

 the old birds is plainly visible on the porcupine-like quills 

 of the young. Having once seen the interior of this dark, 

 damp, dungeon-like nursery one naturally wonders why 

 the featherless young birds do not have blindness, bron- 



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