66 BIRDS OF LYCIA. 



dred years ago the British consul at Smyrna, 

 Mr: Sherard, shot a specimen of this beautiful 

 bird " in a river near Smyrna," and a drawing was 

 published of it by Albin in his " Natural History 

 of Birds." Linnaeus named it Alcedo Smyrnensis. 

 It is a large bird, measuring nearly a foot in 

 length, and glories in a plumage glowing with 

 mingled hues of bright green, intense blue, jet 

 black, rich rufous brown, and pure white. Its 

 bill and legs are bright vermilion. Several 

 were seen, but one only shot. Its skin, pre- 

 pared by Captain Graves, was sent to Mr. Strick- 

 land, who has described it fully in a paper pub- 

 lished in the ninth volume of the "Annals of 

 Natural History." It proved to be identical with 

 the " Great Bengal Kingfisher," a bird generally 

 distributed through India. 



The pelican, the stork, and various species of 

 heron, play a conspicuous part in the scenery of 

 the marshes. They are also frequented by nume- 

 rous snipes, ducks, and coots, the latter feeding 

 on the Melania, a shellfish which abounds in the 

 swamps near the sea. Their crops, when opened, 

 were full of the shells of those mollusks. The 

 red-legged partridge, and the quail, afford em- 

 ployment for Turkish sportsmen. 



