THE KINGFISHER. 103 



topography of a bird's wing according to the .orni- 

 thological books. Halcyon smyrnensis bears captivity- 

 very well, and has been exhibited both at the London 

 and the Calcubta Zoological Gardens. 



There is a sort of larger edition of him, nearly as 

 big as a crow, which one may see as near as Alipore ; 

 this bird rejoices in the name of Pelargopsis gwial, 

 the Stork-billed Kingfisher. He is not as showy as 

 his smaller relatives, being buff and pale-blue in 

 colour, and has a curiously plaintive call for such a 

 big strong bird. He is a fish feeder, although in 

 form he resembles the "White-breasted species more 

 than the Uutle fisher, and likewise has a red bill. I 

 have never seen about Calcutta the pretty spotted 

 Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle varia), whose plumage always 

 reminds me of a silver-spangled Hamburgh fowl ; 

 but he is sure to be found not far off, for he is one of 

 our commonest Indian birds, and in a slightly different 

 form extends to Africa and Western Asia also. 



Sometimes, however, one may see in Calcutta a 

 bird which, although not a Kingfisher, is nevertheless 

 a very near relative of that family, and therefore 

 ought not to be entirely passed over, especially as he 

 generally goes under an alias. This is the Green 

 Bee-eater {Merops viridis), commonly miscalled a 

 flycatcher. The term describes bis way of getting a 

 living well enough, but in his general form, except that 



