92 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



about one. It is a tame, stupid bird and rather inquisi- 

 tive, coming about camping parties and watching all that 

 transpires with apparent interest. 



The common kingfisher of Europe, and the only one 

 found in the British Islands, is one of the water-king- 

 fishers with habits much like our American bird. It is 

 much smaller, however, only seven inches long, and more 

 striking, being bright azure blue above and rusty orange 

 red beneath. It is considered the most brilliant of the 

 British birds. 



All kingfishers nest in holes, mostly in perpendicular 



PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY A KINGFISHER 



Returning to its nest, the kingfisher found this branch, his favorite perch, 

 occupied by the pair of rough-winged swallows. He then attempted to 

 alight on the thread which manipulated the shutter of a camera focused 

 on the branch and in so doing took this interesting picture of the swallows. 



banks of streams, but some species nest in walls, trees 

 or stumps, and all lay pure white eggs. Usually no nest 

 is built, although sometimes a few straws or bones of 

 the fish which they have eaten cover the floor of the 

 cavity. 



Young kingfishers are naked when hatched, lacking 

 even the sparse down which is characteristic of most 

 young birds. They likewise. omit the juvenal plumage, 

 for the first feathers which they wear are those of the 

 adult birds. As with young cuckoos, the feather sheaths 

 do not break open until the feathers have nearly matured, 

 and, for a time, their bodies are encased in the same 

 curious coats of mail. 



With most species of kingfishers the males and females 

 are very similar or the females may be a trifle brighter 

 than the males. This is very uncommon among birds, 

 for if a species is brilliantly colored the bright feathers 

 are usually found only on the male and the females are 

 much duller. With birds that build open nests this is 

 necessary, for bright colors would call' attention to the 

 female while incubating and result in her destruction. 

 With birds that have always nested in cavities, so that 



the female is entirely out of sight while on the eggs, 

 there is no such need for protective coloration and the 

 females are often brilliant. Among our American birds 

 we find this to be the case with the woodpeckers as well 

 as with the kingfishers. Among tropical and Old World 

 species there are many, such as the trogons, toucans, 

 hornbills, bee-eaters, rollers, etc., in which the females 

 are as bright as the males. These birds have probably 

 always nested in cavities and never developed the nest 

 building instinct. 



All of the New World kingfishers, and there are but 

 seven species, belong to the fish-catching group. They 

 are either blue or bright green above, and white or russet 

 below and vary in size from the little South America. 1 

 orange-and-green kingfisher which measures scarcely five 

 inches in length to the large ringed kingfisher that oc- 

 curs as far north as Southern Texas and measures 16 or 

 17 inches. 



The only species found in North America, north of 



QUEEN OF THE FISHERMEN 



As shown by the double band across its breast, this is the female king- 

 fisher. She has a small sucker in her bill for her young 



Texas, is called the belted kingfisher. It is about 13 

 inches in length, but, because of the shortness of its tail 

 and the heaviness of its body, it appears larger than the 

 measurement would suggest. It is found in summer 

 along streams, or about lakes and ponds, from Northern 

 Alaska to the Gulf, and in winter, commonly from Ohio 

 to Northern South America. Occasionally it winters as 

 far north as New York or New England where it can 

 find open water. 



The kingfisher is bluish gray above and white below, 

 the white of the underparts extending around the neck in a 

 broad ring. Across the breast and down the sides is a bluish 

 gray band which, in the female, is tinged with rusty. The 

 female, moreover, has a secondary band of rufans below 



