Birds of Canada. 27 



SUB-ORDER CLAMATORES. 

 (SCREAMERS.) 



FAMILY ALCEDINID.E. THE KING- 

 FISHERS. 



BELTED KINGFISHER. 



Ceryle alcyon. The Belted Kingfisher. 



This bird is a very common summer resident 

 of Canada. It arrives here about the tenth of 

 April. The plumage of this pretty bird is bright 

 blue above, marked with a great number of dark 

 streaks caused by the blue-black shaft of each 

 feather. The wings are blackish-brown, bound 

 with white, and variegated with blue ; the head, 

 with a crest ; a band across the breast and sides 

 of the same color as the back ; the tail, with 

 transverse bands and spots of white. Length, 

 twelve inches. Nests, in a long winding hole in a 

 sand-bank; eggs, six, pure white. Feeds upon fish, 



