BELTED KINGFISHER. 427 



pletely disappearing out of sight, and usually emerging with a wriggling captive firmly 

 grasped in its bill, for it rarely misses its victim. It generally rises some feet into the 

 air before dashing perpendicularly into the water. . . . By far the larger number of fish 

 caught by the Kingfisher consist of species not considered worth much as food fishes, 

 and they rarely average three inches in length." It also eats all kinds of water beetles, 

 various species of Crustacea, grasshoppers, crickets to a greater or less extent. Frogs 

 and lizards are also acceptable prey. But the main part of its food is obtained firom 

 the clear water. The very dense, smooth and satin-like plumage feels to the touch as if 

 oiled and the water never wets it. It is a peculiar fact that the Kingfisher is making 

 frequent nocturnal rambles especially when it has to care for its young, and its loud 

 sre-sre-sre convince us that it is fully as active during the night as in the daytime. 

 The favorite nesting sites of the Kingfisher are the perpendicular banks of creeks, 

 and rivers directly over the water and also the walls of railroad cuts, usually in places 

 where the soil is a mixture of clay and sand. A nearly circular tunnel is dug into these 

 banks, averaging about four inches in diameter. According to Major Chas. Bendire, 

 "the entrance hole is usually from two to three feet below the top of the bank, but some- 

 times fully twenty feet from the top. The burrows vary in length from four to fifteen 

 feet, according to the nature of the soil, and sometimes run in perfectly straight for the 

 entire distance; again they diverge at different angles, at various distances from the 

 entrance. The nesting-chamber is dome-shaped, usually from eight to ten inches in 

 diameter, and always at a slightly higher level than the entrance hole." The eggs, six 

 to eight in number, are pure white in color, and placed in a nest usually made of fish 

 scales and bones, arranged in a saucer-shaped way. Sometimes the lining consists of 

 coarse grasses, and in new cavities the eggs are usually deposited on the bare ground. 

 The male does not assist in incubation, but he supplies his mate with food while she 

 is hatching. 



This bird, a great ornament of our river and mill-pond scenery and not at all 

 injurious to man, oiight to be protected wherever found. 

 NAMES: Belted Kingfisher, Kingfisher, Fisher. 



SCIENTIFIC NAMES: Alcedo alcyon Linn. (1766). CBRYLB ALCYON Bow. (1826). 



DESCRIPTION: "Head with a long crest. Above ashy-blue, without metallic lustre. Beneath, with a con- 

 cealed band across the occiput, and a spot anterior to the eye, pure white. A band across the breast, 

 and the sides of the body under the wings, like the back. Primaries white on the basal half, the 

 terminal unspotted. Tail with transverse bands and spots of white. Female and young with sides 

 of body and a band across the belly below the pectoral one light chestnut; the pectoral band more 

 or less tinged with the same." (B. B. & R., II, p. 393). 



Length 12.75 inches; wing, 6.00; tail, 3.50; bill, 2.00 inches. 



Texan Kingfisher, Ceryle americana septentrionalis Sharpe. This beautiful little 

 bird inhabits southern Texas south to the Isthmus of Panama. In general habits, food 

 and nesting it is similiar to the Belted Kingfisher. I saw it several times on the Comal 

 and Guadeloupe near New Braunfels. The Ringed Kingfisher, Ceryle torquata BbiE, 

 is found from the lower Rio Grande southward to southern South America. 



