THE KINGFISHER. 85 



being blue, the " median " black, and the "minor" chest- 

 nut a useful ' ' tip " for anyone who wants to learn the 

 topography of a bird's wing according to the ornithologi- 

 cal books. Halcyon smyrnensis bears captivity very well, 

 and has been exhibited both at the London and the Cal- 

 cutta Zoological Gardens. 



There is a sort of larger edition of him, nearly as big as 

 a crow, which one may see as near as Alipore ; this bird 

 rejoices in the name of Pelargopsis gurial, the Stork-billed 

 Kingfisher. He is not as showy as his smaller relatives, 

 being buff and pale-blue in colour, and has a curiously 

 plaintive call for such a big strong bird. He is a fish 

 feeder, although in form he resembles the White-breasted 

 species more than the little fisher, and likewise has a red 

 bill, t have never seen about Calcutta the pretty spotted 

 Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle varia), whose plumage always re- 

 minds me of a silver-spangled Hamburgh fowl ; but he is 

 sure to be found not far off, for he is one of our common- 

 est Indian birds, and in a slightly different form extends 

 to Africa and Western Asia also. 



Sometimes, however, one may see in Calcutta a bird 

 which, although not a Kingfisher, :"s nevertheless a very 

 near relative of that family, and therefore ought not to be 

 entirely passed over, especially as he generally goes under 

 an alias. This is the Green Bee- eater (M crops viiidis}, 

 commonly miscalled a flycatcher. The term describes 

 his way of getting a living well enough, but in his general 

 form, except that he has a curved instead of a straight 

 beak, and a long tail, he is very kingfisher-like. When in 

 the hand, it may be observed that his feet are of the 



