94 BIRDS OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



FAMILY ALCEDINID^. KINGFISHERS 



Kingfishers, as the name implies, are fishers and are usu- 

 ally seen flying or perched above the water. Their sole diet 

 seems to consist of fish. 



390. Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon.) 



It is about twelve inches in length, including a long, stout 

 bill. The bushy crest and back are bluish gray; belly white or 

 marked with rusty. 



The chief characteristics are the white throat and neck 

 bands. The male has a bluish gray breast band, which in the 

 female is rusty. 



The Kingfisher, though not very abundant, is found in 

 every State in the Union. Every stream, millpond and wooded 

 lake shore is wakened by its rattling notes as it plunges in head- 

 long flight from one dead limb perch to another. It lives entirely 

 on small fish, which it takes by plunging into the water. Its 

 nest is the enlarged end of a hole, sometimes eight or ten feet 

 long, which it tunnels into some high bank. A summer resident. 



FAMILY PICID^. WOODPECKERS 



South Dakota has a number of the choicest of this family. 

 Theirs is the difficult task of chiseling through the bark to ex- 

 tract wood borers that would destroy our trees. They also feed 

 upon the insect eggs, larvae and cocoons found in bark crevices. 

 They excavate nest holes in dead trees, and in the autumn some 

 of them excavate winter homes. When these excavations have 

 been used by them they become the natural nesting places of 

 Wrens, Bluebirds and Chickadees. At one time the idea was 

 prevalent that Woodpeckers usually constructed their nest holes, 

 so that the entrance was toward the northeast or east, but a care- 

 ful survey made by one of the writers along the Missouri River 

 in 1919 of over 70 holes would tend to disprove the statement, 

 as 20 opened to the west, 17 to the north, 10 to the south, while 

 6 opened to the northeast, and 2 to the east. 



The toes of Woodpeckers are arranged differently from 

 those of most other birds, two being in front and two behind, 

 which with their long nails enable them to cling to bark while 

 climbing. They are also supported in climbing by their stiff 

 tail feathers. 



