ALCEDlNiE. 
85 
tarsus very short ; toes short, and very slender, the first 
small, broad, and flattened beneath, the anterior three 
parallel and united in part of their length, or two ante- 
rior so united, the fourth directed backwards ; claws 
arched, compressed, acute. Wings broad, rounded, with 
the first quill extremely small ; tail of twelve feathers. 
The peculiar form of the bill, and the rapid flight of 
these birds, have suggested the name which I have given 
to them. As the feebleness of their feet incapacitates 
them from walking, they either pursue their insect prey 
in open flight, or assuming a station, dart from thence 
upon it. The birds of one genus, Alcedo, feed upon 
small fishes, after which they plunge in the manner of 
Gannets. Although only two species occur in Britain, 
they are numerous in tropical countries. The families 
into which they may be arranged are Alcedin^, Gal- 
BULiNiE, and Trogonin^, of which the tw^o latter have 
the feet zygodactyle. It is only of the first of these fa- 
milies that representatives occur in Britain. 
FAMILY VIII. ALCEDINJE. ALCEDINE 
BIBDS OR KINGFISHERS. 
\ 
Body compact ; neck short ; head rather large, oblong. 
Bill longer than the head, straight or slightly arched, 
opening to beneath the middle of the eye, pentagonal at 
the base, four-sided in the rest of its extent, compressed, 
and tapering to a point. Tongue very short, fleshy, with 
the sides nearly parallel, the tip bluntish ; oesophagus 
wide, thin, without crop ; stomach very large, roundish, 
membranous ; intestine long, very slender, without coeca. 
Trachea destitute of inferior laryngeal muscles. F eet very 
small ; tarsus short, bare ; toes small, the first directed 
backwards, the anterior united in part of their extent, 
