BIRDS OF NEW YORK STATE 59 



Kingfisher, Belted (Ceryle alcyon) 



This bird is found throughout the State along lake shores, 

 rivers, ponds and brooks. 12.5-14.75 



Call no. 



Nu KiB Adult Female Perched on Stick Stuck in Bank, Front View. 

 (June 3, 1914) R. H. Beebc 



The stick is placed directly before the nest hole. The male 

 does not have the brown band across the breast so that in this 

 respect the female is brighter than the male. 



Nu KiB2 Nest with Seven Eggs in Sand Bank 



The eggs of the kingfisher are laid at the end of a burrow dug 

 in a sand or clay bank by the bird. This tunnel is frequently 

 three feet long. At the farther end it is enlarged and from five to 

 eight glossy eggs are laid. The entrance to the nest here shown 

 has been cut away. No nest is built. 



Nu KiB3 Birds Two Days Old. (May 21, 1899) W.L.Baily 



The young are hatched naked, blind and helpless. The down 

 found on most altricial birds is lacking. 



Nu KiB4 Birds Nine Days Old 



Here the eyes are opened and pin feathers are developed. The 

 developing feathers, "pin feathers," remain in the sheaths until 

 full grown, when they burst and the transformation to the full 

 feathered bird is, as with the cuckoos, very rapid. 



Nu KiB5 Six Birds, 16 Days Old W. L. Baily 



Notice the developing crest and absence of pin feathers. For 

 many weeks after they are able to fly, the young birds are 

 dependent upon their parents. 



Nu KiB6 Immature on Stump. Decorah, Iowa Hegner 



This is a typical perch. Kingfishers though brightly colored 

 resemble their parents in their first plumage. 



Nu KiB7 Adult Female Perched on Twig with Sucker in Bill. 

 Ithaca. (June 21, 1913) Allen 



The food of this bird is chiefly fish and crayfish, which it 

 catches by diving from some favorite perch near the surface of 



