324 | ZOOLOGY. 
salt water. All parts of the world, except America, are inhabited by these 
birds. Australia produces a genus (Dacelo) which contains the largest 
species of this sub-family. They feed upon small quadrupeds, reptiles, 
insects, and other animals, and are remarkable for a peculiar gurgling 
laugh, from which the colonists have named the commonest species “ the 
laughing jackass.” 
The genus Halcyon comprises about fifty species, which are mostly 
found in Africa and India, and the islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans. 
These birds live exclusively in the immediate vicinity of the water, from 
the animals inhabiting which they derive their subsistence. 
The black-capped kingfisher of India, H. atricapilla (pl. 108, fig. 8), is 
one of the most common species, though many others are common in 
collections. The birds of this group are said to nestle in hollow trees. 
Sub-fam. 3. Alcedinine, or Narrow-billed Kingfishers. Bill very 
straight, compressed, and sometimes slender, points of both mandibles 
acute, commissure straight. Wings and tail short; tarsi very short, but 
robust; toes very unequal, the two anterior of which are united. Size 
small; colors of plumage more or less blue and green. 
The birds of this sub-family, though not constituting so many species as 
are contained in the preceding, are more generally diffused over the entire 
surface of the temperate and torrid zones. They may be considered as the 
fresh-water kingfishers in distinction from the Halcyonide, as they are 
found only in the vicinity of rivers or small streams, upon the fishes 
inhabiting which they live. In the banks of those streams these birds 
excavate holes, frequently of considerable. depth, in which they construct 
their nests and rear their young. 
The common European kingfisher, Alcido ispida (pl. 103, fig. 5), belongs 
here. It is a very pretty little species, found sparingly throughout the 
continent, inhabiting the banks of small streams, and usually seen perched 
upon a small bough overhanging the stream, whence it darts upon such 
fishes as expose themselves to its keen vision. About twenty other 
species, more or less related generically to the common European species, 
are found in Asia and Africa. Some species of the latter country are 
quite diminutive, being not larger than the North American wren. 
All the American kingfishers belong to the genus Ceryle, which contains, 
however, species from other parts of the world. There are about ten 
American species, the only one of which found in the United States is the 
common belted kingfisher (C. alcyon). This bird is distributed throughout 
the United States, and being the only species of its kind found in the north is 
universally known. It is constantly to be seen along the courses of brooks 
or creeks, ready to seize upon the small fishes which are its favorite food. 
The nest is constructed in a hole in the bank of the stream, and this 
species is said to breed for several successive years in the same nest. 
Several species have been found as far north as Mexico, though they are 
all common in South America. The (@. amazona is one of the most 
common, and has very handsome silky green plumage; others have, 
however, much the same. The giant kingfisher of authors (C. torquata) is 
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