168 VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF LAKELAND 



Order PICARIjE. Fam. ALCEDINIDJE. 



KINGFISHER. 



Alcedo ispida, L. 



A few Kingfishers haunt our northern streams and backwaters, 

 not ascending very frequently to the becks which drain the 

 * snow-broth ' from the fells ; yet appropriating many quiet 

 nooks on our salmon rivers. Mrs. Howard alludes to the pre- 

 sence of Kingfishers on the Eden in the first volume of her 

 Reminiscences (p. 97), remarking that a spot, then called the 

 i blackbird's seat,' had previously been known as ' the halcyon 

 bower ' from the number of Kingfishers in the vicinity. Our 

 anglers take a pride in the Kingfishers that share their sport in 

 miniature. I believe that no men more heartily regret the 

 Vandalism which destroys so many Kingfishers. But though 

 the object of relentless persecution on account of its beautiful 

 plumage, the Kingfisher is not so local as many persons imagine, 

 a misconception chiefly due to the retiring habits of the bird. 

 For although the ' Icebird ' (as they call this species in Germany) 

 especially frequents the banks of our larger rivers, yet in sum- 

 mer it often happens that a pair of Kingfishers withdraw from 

 their usual haunts to rear their young in more complete retire- 

 ment ; nesting in the side of some half-dried-up stream, or near 

 a stagnant unlovely ditch, where no one would suspect their 

 presence. In the summer of 1890 Mr. W. Duckworth noticed 

 on the sea-shore near Ulverston a cage containing seven young 

 Kingfishers, to whose presence he was attracted by their (to 

 him) familiar cries. Our joint inquiries ascertained that a man 

 named Baxter had taken them out of a hole in the low cliff 

 immediately above high-tide mark. The parent birds reared their 

 young for about a week, feeding them chiefly on small shrimps. 

 The experiment was at last spoilt by some mischievous boys 

 who made a raid on the young birds. Whatever the attraction 

 may be (I am not wicked enough to shoot these beautiful birds for 

 dissection), Kingfishers certainly live for weeks on the creeks of 

 our salt marshes. Not the least graceful of the actions of the 

 Kingfisher is its habit of hovering occasionally like a Kestril; 

 this Dr. Heysham was one of the first to observe. 



