THE EUROPEAN KINGFISHER. 



{Alcedo ispida.) 



The English or European Kingfisher 

 was mentioned by the writers of very 

 early ages and is a notable element in 

 both classical and medieval mythology. 

 In medieval legends it was believed to 

 have been at one time a plain bird of a 

 uniform gray color, but that when lib- 

 erated from Noah's Ark it flew toward 

 the sun and, as a result, the plumage of 

 its upper side changed to the ' color of 

 the sky above; its lower plumage was 

 scorched by the heat of the setting sun 

 and assuhied the color which it has at 

 the present time. The dried bodies of 

 Kingfishers were also believed to pos- 

 sess a power which would create thun- 

 derbolts, and also that their bodies 

 would protect woolen goods from the 

 ravages of moths if laid with them. One 

 of the most interesting of these early 

 superstitions was, that if a Kingfisher's 

 body was hung from the ceiling of a 

 room by a thread, in such a manner that 

 it would swing freely, its bill would al- 

 ways point in the direction from which 

 the wind blew. Pliny, in his Natural 

 History, relates an interesting supersti- 

 tion: 'Tt is for this that the halcyon 

 (Kingfisher) is more especially re- 

 markable; the seas, and all those who 

 sail upon their surface, well know the 

 days of incubation. * * * It is a 

 thing of very rare occurrence to see a 

 halcyon, and then it is only about the 

 time of the setting of the Vergilise (the 

 seven stars, Pleiades), and the summer 

 and winter solstices ; when one is some- 

 times to be seen to hover about a ship, 

 and then immediately disappear. They 

 hatch their young at the time of the 

 winter solstice, from which circum- 

 stance those days are known as the 

 'halcyon days' : during this period the 

 sea is calm and navigable, the Sicilian 

 sea in particular." Ovid tells us of how 

 Alcyone threw herself into the sea, be- 

 cause of grief for her husband, and was 

 changed into a Kingfisher, and how her 



father Aeolus, the wind-god, caused all 

 gales to be hushed and the sea calmed in 

 order that their nest (her husband was 

 also changed into a Kingfisher) might 

 float uninjured on the waves. This 

 period of time was known as the Hal- 

 cyon Days. There are many other in- 

 teresting legends and superstitions re- 

 garding the Kingfishers. 



The English, perhaps more properly 

 the European Kingfisher, is one of the 

 most beautiful of the birds of Europe. 

 They are solitary birds and quite local 

 in their habits. While not abundant in 

 any locality, they frequent every coun- 

 try of Europe, and also the northern por- 

 tion of Africa and the southwestern por- 

 tion of Asia. Their flight is rapid and, 

 as Robert Mudie has said, 'There are 

 few sights in quiet nature more novel 

 and pleasing, or that one wishes more 

 to have repeated than the first glance 

 one gets of a Kingfisher, darting along 

 some reach of a clear but placid stream, 

 which glides between soft banks fringed 

 with reeds and bushes." Frequently, as 

 they fly over the water, they will stop 

 their direct flight and, hovering over a 

 spot for a few moments, will suddenly 

 dart downward into the water and re- 

 turn with a fish, or possibly an insect 

 which may have been floating on the 

 surface of the water. They also watch 

 for their prey while perched upon the 

 boughs of trees, or other objects which 

 overhang the water. Upon the sea- 

 coasts, it is said, they will feed upon 

 small crabs. - Because of the freezing of 

 the streams in the northern portion of 

 their range, as winter approaches, the 

 Kingfisher must necessarily migrate 

 southward. As they dive for their food 

 and must see the fish first, they frequent 

 only those streams which are not turbu- 

 lent. Neither do they fish when the wind 

 roughens the surface or mud colors the 

 water. They must have "halcyon days" 

 when the waters are quiet and they can 



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