134 THE BELTED KINGFISHER. 



sent to Europe, but in a mutilated state, the natives being in the habit of depriving it of 

 its legs and wings before parting vv^ith the skin. The Paradise birds were long treated in the 

 same manner, until the sportsmen learned that they could sell the entire bird at a better price 

 than when it had been mutilated. 



In the birds which form the genus Ceyx there are only three toes, and one of them very 

 strong, the tail is very short, and the bill straight, like that of the common Kingfisher of 

 Europe. The reader must note that the word Ceyx is dissyllabic. 



Tjie Tridactylous Kingfisher is a native of Java, Borneo, and the whole of the Indian 

 Archipelago, and is said to have been discovered even upon the continent itself. Although a 

 very little bird, it is one of the most brilliantly colored of the entire group, and hardly yields 

 even to the gem-like humming-bird in the metallic and glittering color of its iDlumage. Even 

 the united aid of pencil and brush can give but little idea of the extreme beauty of the coloring 

 of this bird, for the glowing richness of the tints as they flash and glitter with every move- 

 ment of the bird and vary momentarily in hue and tone, is far beyond the power of art, and 

 sets at nought the colors of the most skilful painter. 



The head of the Tridactylons Kingfisher, as well as the whole upper surface of the body, is 

 a deep rich lilac, and the wings are stained ^vith a most beautiful and singular mixture of 

 deep blue and ultramarine, the centre of each feather being of the foiTner tint, and the edges 

 of the latter hue. The whole of the under surface is pure white, the feet are red, and the bill 

 is a pale carmine. In its dimensions it is exceedingly small, being one-thii'd less than the 

 common Kingfisher of Europe. 



The interesting birds which are gathered into the genus Ceryle may be known by the 

 thick, compressed, and sharply jiointed beak, the comparatively long and rounded tail, and 

 the length of the front inner toe. To this genus may be referred all the American species 

 of this group, one of which, the Belted Kingfisher, forms the subject of the following 

 description. 



The Belted Kingfisher is an inhabitant of many parts of America, and as it is in the habit 

 of migrating northward or southward, according to the season of the year and the state of the 

 temperature, it is a very familiar bird throughout the greater part of America, from Mexico to 

 Hudson's Bay. So common is it in these regions that, according to Wilson, "mill-dams are 

 periodically visited by this feathered fisher, and the sound of his pipe is as well known to the 

 mUler as the sound of his own hopper.'" 



The sight (jf the Belted Kingfishei- is singularly keen, and even when passing with its 

 meteor-like fiight over the country, it will suddenly check itself in mid career, hovering over 

 the spot for a short time, watching the finny inhabitants of the brook as they swim to and f lo, 

 and then witli a curious spiral kind of plunge will dart into the water, driving up the spray in 

 every direction, and after a brief struggle will emerge with a small fish in its mouth, which it 

 bears to some convenient resting-])lace, and after battering its prey with a few hearty thumps 

 against a stump or a stone, swallows it, and returns for another victim. Waterfalls, rapids, 

 or "lashers" are the favored haunts of the Belted Kingfisher, whose jjiercing eye is able to 

 discern the prey even through the turmoil of dirty water, and whose unerring aim fails not to 

 seize and secure the unsuspecting victims, in spite of their active fins and slippery scale- 

 covered bodies. 



"Rapid streams," says Wilson, "with high perpendicular banks, particularly if they be 

 of a hard, clayey, or sandy mixture, are also the favorite places of resort for this bird, not 

 only l)eca,use in such places the small fish are more exposed to view, but because those steep 

 and dry banks are the chosen situation of his nest.'' 



In these banks the Belted Kingfisher digs a ttmnel, which often extends to the length 

 of four or five feet, employing both beak and claws in the work. The nest is of a very simple 

 nature, being composed of a few small twigs and feathers, on which are laid the four or five 

 pure white eggs. The birds seem to be much attached to their homes, and the same pair will 



