126 ALCEDINID^. 



Morocco to Tripoli as well as in the Canary Islands. In 

 ■winter it visits Africa, going as far south as Senegambia and 

 Abyssinia ; also the plains of India. It has occurred in the 

 Faeroes, Spitsbergen, and the extreme north of Europe, the 

 Azores, and Madeira. Allied forms have been described 

 from east Siberia and Mongolia ; India, Ceylon, south 

 China, and Hainan ; Egypt ; tropical and south Africa ; 

 and Miidagascar. 



Suborder SALCTOJSTJES. 

 Family ALCEDINID^. 

 Genus ALCEDO Linnceus, Syst. Nat. 1758, p. 115. 

 Type: A. ispidaJ^mn. 



Alceda^a. Kingfisher, in classical Latin ; the Greek aXxvuiv. 



Alcedo ispida. Kingfisher. 



AlcedO ispida Linnaus, Syst. Nat. 1758, p. 115 : Sweden. 



Aloedo ispida Linn. ;. B. O. TJ. List, 1st ed. 1883, p. 80 ; Sharpe, 

 Cat. Birds B. M. xvii. 1892, p. 141 ; Saunders, Manual, 

 2nd ed. 1899, p. 279. 



Ispida = the Kingfisher, in late Latin ; derivation uncertain. 



Distribution in the British Islands. — A Resident, generally 

 distributed, but becoming rare towards the north of Scotland. 

 It has not been observed in Caithness or the Shetlands, and 

 only once recorded from the Orkneys and once from the 

 Outer Hebrides. In Ireland it is sparingly distributed, but 

 has been known to breed in every county. It has been 

 noted at the lighthouses in spring and autumn. 



General Distribution. — The Kingfisher inhabits the greater 

 part of Europe from southern Scandinavia and St. Petersburg, 

 where it is rare, southwards to the Mediterranean. In 

 north Africa and western Asia it is represented by slightly 

 different races; while others inhabit eastern Asia and the 

 islands to the casf, ranging as far as the Solomon Islands. 



