134 INSESSORES. HALCYONIDiE. 



Family V— HALCYONID^ * 



We now arrive at the Halcyonidae, which constitutes the 

 fifth and last aberrant family of the tribe, and wliich meets 

 the MeropidcB at the other extremity of the circle, being 

 closely connected with it by means of the genera Galhula^ 

 Monasa, &c., in which the bill acquires, in a great measure, 

 the shape and proportions of that of the Bee-eaters. The 

 typical form of this family exists in the genus Alcedo, as now 

 restricted, and of which our common King's-fisher may be 

 considered the representative. A great number of species 

 formerly included in that genus by earlier systematists, have 

 been separated from it under' the genera /fa/r?/ow (of Swain- 

 son) and Dacelo (of Leach) ; which exhibit a departure 

 from the peculiar structure of the true King's-fisher, with re- 

 gard to the bill and other parts, attended by a corresponding 

 difference in their habits and economy. The Halcyonida? 

 prey upon animal matter, particularly fish and insects, which 

 they take upon wing, seizing the latter in their flight, and 

 the former by plunging down upon them as they rise to the 

 surface of the water. Their feet are formed for grasping, 

 but are incapable of aiding them in progressive motion, and 

 their flight is rapid and direct. Their plumage, especially 

 that of the typical group, frequently exhibits the richest and 

 most vivid colours, with a metallic or varying lustre, as diffe- 

 rently presented to the incidental rays of light. They are 

 mostly natives of the warmer chmates of the Old and New 

 World, Europe boasting of but a single species of the genus 

 Alcedo. 



" We possess no British species of the family Troponkke, the ith in this 

 .•nTiingement. 



