THE KINGFISHERS 



(Family Alcedinldae) 



BY A. A. ALLEN, PH.D. 



ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ORNITHOLOGY, CORNELL UNIVERSITY 



WHETHER sitting patiently on a branch over- 

 hanging the water or dashing up the stream 

 with a wild rattling cry, the kingfisher always 

 demands attention. His curious shape, due to his large 

 crested head, long bill and short tail, his striking colora- 

 tion, his interesting habits and the natural charm of his 

 habitat, all combine to make him one of our most attrac- 

 tive and best known birds. It is the same the world over. 

 The members of the kingfisher family, of which there 

 are nearly 200 species, are beloved by all peoples. It is 

 little wonder that many legends have grown up about 

 them. The Halcyon Days of Greek mythology, for ex- 

 ample, were the fourteen days in winter when Aeolus, the 

 god of the winds, kept the weather calm so that the float- 

 ing nest of the kingfisher 

 could ride safely over the 

 sea. The birds themselves 

 were Ceyx and Alcyone, 

 the latter the daughter of 

 Aeolus, whom Zeus had 

 changed into kingfishers. 

 In the days of Shakespeare 

 the dried body of a king- 

 fisher was supposed to keep 

 moths from woolen gar- 

 ments or, if suspended 

 from the ceiling, to point 

 its bill in the direction of 

 the wind. 



While the kingfishers are 

 almost all brilliantly col- 

 ored, they are not all alike 

 in habits but are divided 

 into two natural groups, 



ARMORED PRINCES 



The feather sheaths on young kingfishers do not break open until the 

 feathers have nearly matured and for a time the youngsters seem to be 

 encased in curious coats of mail. 



the wood-kingfishers and the water-kingfishers. The 

 former frequent woodlands, open country, or even gar- 

 dens, where they feed upon insects, crustaceans, frogs, 

 lizards, or even small birds and mammals, and only oc- 

 casionally take fish. The latter group, like our Ameri- 

 can bird, frequent streams and lake shores and feed al- 

 most entirely upon fish, although frogs, crayfish and 

 aquatic insects are sometimes taken. The majority of 

 the wood-kingfishers are extremely brilliant, metallic 

 greens and blues, satiny whites, russets or reds predomi- 

 nating. One genus of about twenty species, found in 

 India and the Malay Archipelago, have elongated cen- 

 tral tail feathers which are enlarged at the tip or racquet- 

 shaped. One of the largest and best known species, how- 

 ever, is much duller. This 

 is the famous laughing 

 jackass of Australia and 

 New Guinea, a bird nearly 

 as large as a crow with a 

 much heavier bill. It is 

 brown above and grayish 

 white below, this color ex- 

 tending around the neck 

 and in a broad band over 

 the eye. A little greenish 

 blue on the lower back and 

 in the wing enlivens the 

 otherwise plain attire. The 

 name Laughing Jackass is 

 derived from its loud gurg- 

 ling, laughing note which 

 sounds "as if a troop of 

 fiends were shouting, 

 whooping and laughing" 



The feather 



TWO WEEKS LATER-THE TRANSFORMATION 



sheaths have broken and the young kingfishers now resemble the old birds. There is no Juvenal plumage as with most birds 

 sneatns nave oro*en a ^^ ^ fe ^ a]es B are b(>th bright and a duU p l umag e ,s never assumed. 



