134 



THE OOLOGIST. 



he deserves the title. If we now exam- 

 ine the scientific name, Ceryle aleyon, 

 we find that the generic name Ceryle, 

 or Alcedo., as the type of the family 

 Alcedinidm is called, means, I am in- 

 formed, Kinpffisher. The name alcyon, 

 it is claimed by some, is given in allus- 

 ion to its sword-like bill, the sense of 

 wh'ch may raadily be called to mind by 

 those familiar with the dagger-shaped 

 mandibles. Falchion, too, is possibly 

 derived from this source. But if we 

 go back to ancient Greece we will find 

 that three thousand years ago this bird 

 had a connection with the weal and the 

 woe of the Inhabitants. Hals is the 

 Greek for sea, and kunani for search. 

 We may also learn that halyon is a term 

 applied by the ancients to the seven 

 days which immediately preceed and 

 follow a particular date, from the cir- 

 cumstance ^hat the halcyon or King- 

 fisher selected that period for incuba- 

 tion, and they believed on that ac- 

 count the weather was always remark- 

 ably quiet about that time, hence the 

 words 'halcyon days' have passed into 

 a proverb, as denoting times of peace 

 and tranquility." 



In tracing out this name Kingfisher, 

 we are pleasantly surprised to ffnd the 

 connection between it and the "halcyon 

 days" of our agreeable trips on lake 

 and river, when the blue-coated, wary, 

 yet curious inclined birds, flitted about 

 our seat, loudly proclaiming with strid- 

 ulous notes against our invasion. 

 Ah! those were happy days with the 

 bass on'the lake or river, or along the 

 edge of the cherished, well known and 

 remembered trout stream, and whether 

 the expedition was for trout or bass a 

 Kingfisher was always on hand. Birds 

 always look so much alike as to leave 

 an impression that the same one always 

 accompanies us. If we are floating 

 down the stream, the mocking fellow is 

 always ahead, and at the next bend and 

 he drops from his perch and goes 

 sweeping away ere we are within gun- 



shot of him, appearing again at the 

 next turn, where with his blue coat, 

 white vest and blue or bronze tie, 

 dressed low, he is seen perched de- 

 murely on a branch or dead stump at 

 the side of the water. Sometimes one 

 flies past us up the stream, describing a 

 safe radius, but soon his rattling notes 

 can be heard as he cuts across a narrow 

 neck of land below us, and again we 

 continue to chase him. 



I have met the Kingfisher everywhere 

 I have traveled east of the great river, 

 and have always found him the same 

 successful fisher and discreet, strong 

 flier, and with that exasperating, mock- 

 ing clatter of a laugh. In the Lake 

 Superior region to the lower part of 

 Florida he fishes successfully, either in 

 fresh or salt water, and dives with ap- 

 parently the same precision in the cof- 

 fee colored flood of the Ohio as in the 

 crystal waters of the St. Lawerence. 



There are many interesting points to 

 study about our birds, but tnere are 

 very few which will prove more inter- 

 esting than the Kingfisher, or repay us 

 better for our pains. Upon an intimate 

 acquaintance we will find him a digger 

 of wonderful ability, a fisher of surpris- 

 ing merit, as well as a remarkable pro- 

 vider for his family and careful in- 

 structor of progeny. Add to these at- 

 tributes that he is wonderfully careful 

 with his dress, often presenting the 

 plumage of his coat and vest, in which 

 he takes the pride of a swell, and that 

 he is exceeding wasteful at seasons, we 

 have our halcyon fairly summed up. 



In this section, Lower Mic'igan, the 

 Kingfisher usually begins nesting in 

 early May, and generally about six or 

 seven weeks after his first spring ap- 

 pearance. Some seasons the birds ar- 

 rive in early March from their southern 

 haunts, and when the ice is still cover- 

 ing the lakes and ponds Several nests 

 have been found with eggs by our 

 local collectors in April, but usually it 

 is useless to spend the time in digging 



