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Olin. Aldr. >nd BrlfT., alcyon of Cefn. and Aldr., martin- 

 potheuror nlcvon of Buffon, king-fin>cr of Alhin. and Will. 

 Jiuropcan kiiijj-fiflier of PeniKint, and common kmg-fillici- of 

 Latham, is (hort-tailcd, )l<y-Wiie above, fuKous below, and 

 its ftrapn are rufous. This bird is fcvcn iiu-lics long and 1 1 

 broad, of a clumfy fiiapo, the head and bill being very large, 

 and the leg? dilpioportionatcly fmall ; the bill is two inches 

 long, the iippfr mandible black, and the lower yellow ; and 

 the iridtfs are red; but the colours of its plumage amply 

 lompcnfate for the inelegance of its form. The crown of 

 the head, and the coverts of the wings are of a deep blaekilh 

 l^reen, fpottcd with bright azure ; the fca]>ular feathers and 

 coverts of the fail are alio of a rcfplendcnt azure ; the whole 

 undcrlide of the body is orange-coloured, and a broad mark 

 of the fame palfcs from the bill beyond the eyes ; beyond 

 that is a large white fpot ; the tail is Ihort, and conlilts of 

 12 feathers of a rich deep blue ; the feet are of a reddifh 

 vcllow ; the three lower joints of the outmoll toe adhere to 

 the middle toe, and the inner toe adheres to it by one joint. 



The king-iilher freijuents the banks of rivers, and feeds 

 on fith. It takes its prey fomewhat in the manner of the 

 .ifprey, balancing itftlf at a certain diltancc over the v.ater 

 for fome time, and then ihirting below the furface brings 

 ihe prey up in its feet. When it remains fufpendcd in the 

 air, in a bright day, the plumage exhibits a moll beautiful 

 variety of the moil dazzling and brilliant colours. To tliis 

 attitude the ancients refer ; for Ihycus, quoted by Athcnxus 

 (Deipnof. lib. ix. p. 3R8.) rails thcfe birds ^'avj-.v.; Tc.tvn-l-^'i, 

 the halcyons with expanded wings. It mal-.es its ncll in 

 holes in the fides of the cliffs, which it fcoops to the depth 

 of three feet, and lays from five to nine eggs, ot a mod 

 beautiful femi-tranfparent white. The nell is very fcrtid, on 

 account of the rcfufe of fifli w ith which the young are fed. 

 It begins to hatch its young early in the feafon ; and ex- 

 cludes the firft brood in the beginning of April. Whilft 

 the female is thus cmphiyed, the male is unintermitting in 

 his attention, fupplyinghis male with iifli in inch abundance 

 thr4 (he is found at this feafon plump and fat. He ccafes 

 to twitter at this time, and enters the neil as quietly and 

 privately as poflible. The young are hatched in about 20 

 days, but differ both in fizc and beauty. The ancients be- 

 lieved that the halcyons were fo amorous, that the male died 

 in the embrace, and Arillotfe afferts (lib. ix. c. 14. ) that 

 they ber;'n to breed when only four months old. The Ipecies 

 now dcforibed is the aXxvk'M^vx:, or mute halcyon of Ariil. 

 (Hid. An. 892.105.) which he defcribcs with a precifion, 

 to which he is not accullomcd. His defcriptlon of the bird 

 !«; followed by thr.l of the neft ; whicli, he fays, refembled 

 thofe concretions that are formed by the fea-water ; that it 

 ■was like the long-necked gourd, hollow within and having 

 a narrow entrance, fo that if it ovcrict the water could not 

 enter ; that it relilted any violence from iron, but might 

 be broken with a blow of the hand ; and that it was coni- 

 pofed of the bones of the Bf^om, or fea-needle. The neil 

 was called halcyoneum, and inedical virtues were aferibed to 

 it. Mr. Pennant inclines to credit part at leall of Arillotle's 

 account, as to the form of the neil, which agrees with the 

 defcription given of it by Count Zinanni; and as to the ma- 

 terials of which it iscompofed, and the fragments of bones 

 ind fcales of fifh that were found in it, he adds, that thofe 

 who v.-ill not allow this to be a bird that frequents the fea 

 fljould recoUeft that Ariftotle made his oblervatlons in a 

 milder climate than our's, and yet from Zinanni we learn, 

 that even in Italy the king-fiiher breeds in May on banks of 

 llreams that are near the fea, and the ancient Stagirite 

 allows, (Hill. An. 1050.) that the halcyon fomctimes af- 

 ccnded rivers polTibly to breed. M. Buffun is of opinion, 



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tliat the lialcyonia, of which Pliny, (lib. xxxii. 8.), 

 itckons four kinds, and which fome have fnppofed to be the 

 ncfts of king-!ilhers, are only clufter.s ot Ica-wceds ; and 

 with regard to the neils of Touquin and China, whicl; a:c 

 elleemed fiich delicacies, a. id have alfo been aicnbed to the 

 halcyon, they are the indifputabic prodi'ftions of the efeulcnt 

 fwaliow. On the precaiious foundaliou laid by Ariftotle, 

 vciy abfurd and incredible tales have been tornied by lub- 

 fequcnt writers ; and the poets, indulging the powen; ot 

 imagination have added many ticlions to the account of the 

 philofopber. Accordingly the neil has been reprefented as 

 a floating one : 



" Incubat halcyone pendentibus a-qiiore nidio." 



Ovio. Met. lib. xi. 



It was therefore neccffary to place it in a tranquil fea, and 

 to fupply tlie bird with charms to allay the fury of a tur- 

 bulent element, during the feafon of incubation. At 

 that time it had, therefore, controul over the feas and the 

 winds : 



" X' a\xuo»:? ;of<iT£i/»1i t» y.u/iola tuvte SaXarir*!' 

 Tot Te voloy, to» r'ti/^ov, If to-^ola ^uxia >uvsi. 

 A>.Kiovi^f yXxiK^i; N»^t)((7» -rut n ^aXirai 

 Ofn9av s?)iXa9£»." — Thf.ocrit. Idyll, vii. I. 57. 



" May halcyons fmooth the waves, and calm the feas, 

 And the rough fuuth-eall iink into a breeze ; 

 Hakyons of all the birds that haunt the main, 

 Moil lov'd and honour'd by the Nereid train." 



Fawkes. 



Thcfe birds were equally favourites with Thetis, as well as 

 the Nereids : 



" Dilefta; Thetidi Halcyones." 



ViRG. Georg. i. 399. 



As if to their influence thefe deities owed a repofe in the 

 midfl of the ftorms of winter, and by their means were fe- 

 cured from thole winds that didurb their fubmarine retreats, 

 and agitated even the plants at the bottom of the ocean. 

 Such are the accounts given by the Roman and Sicilian poets. 

 Arillotle and Pliny tell us, that this bird is mod common in 

 the leas of Sicily ; that it fat only a few days, and thofe in 

 the depth of winter ; and during that period the mariner 

 might fail in full fecurity ; for which reafon they were diled 

 Halcvon-c/7)'j-. By the poets the king-fiflier was alfo made 

 a bird of fon>r. Vir<ril ranks it with the linnet : 



" Litoraq.uc Alcyouen refonant, Acalanthida dumi." 



Gcorg. iii. 33S. 



And Silius Italicus celebrates its mufic, and its floating nell : 



" Cum fonat halcyones cantu, nidofque natantes 

 Inimota gedat, fopitis fluclibus, iinda." 



lib. xiv. 275. 



But thefe poets have probably transferred to this fpecies the 

 powers of long that belonged to the alctdo of the philo- 

 fopber (HilL An. 892."), which was vocal and perched upon 

 reeds ; and which', according to his account, v.as the Italt 

 of the two, but that both of them have a cyanean back. 

 Bclon fuppofes the vocal aleedo to be the greater reed fpar- 

 row, lurdiis ani/idiriaccus of Linn-.rus, a bird of a fine note 

 and converfant among reeds ; but Mr. Pennant dillents from 

 his opinion, becaufc the colours of 'the latter are vei-y plain, 

 and conceives that the aleedo vocahs of Arillotle is one of 

 the lod birds of the ancients. Some have even doubted, 

 whether the king-fillier of the moderns and the alcyon of 

 the ancients are the fame bird. But the defcription of Arif- 

 totle fufiiciently identifies them. The alcyon, fays that 



phllofophcr. 



