° rder IT - p ASSERES. 
Tribe II. Fissirostres diurn /e. 
Family Y. Alcedinidas. 
Th 
;e t] Ard Subfamily, 
h 
ALCEDININiE, or Kingfishers, 
iaVe the Bill 
th e more or less long, straight, and slender, wi th the culmen sloping to the tip, which is acute ; 
llUc h com pressed ; and the gonys long and ascending. 
Alcedo Linn * 
Bill m 0 
e or * ess long, slender, and straight, with the culmen sloping to the tip, which is acute ; the 
Nostrils p Set . ’ ^ ie l a t era l margins straight ; the gonys lengthened, and slightly sloping upwards ; the 
the " ’ Avit; h the opening oblique and covered by a membranous plumed scale. Wings short, with 
and ro qmU nearl y as long as the second and third, which are equal and longest. Tail short, broad, 
on e et- Tars 
shi 
> and 
si very short, and robust. Toes unequal ; the outer toe nearly as long as the middle 
ort „ 1 United neai 'ly to the tip ; the inner toe short, and united at the base ; the hind toe rather 
’ ail d brno.i . „ . 
The 
„ j . j — — 1 
a > the claws short, compressed, and curved. 
ob Ser y e °| tiH . 3 § enus are found in most parts of the Old World. They frequent the fresh- water rivers, and are 
C0 «sist 8 S0Utary ’ P erc l* e d on an overhanging branch, or flying near the surface while hunting for their prey, 
ClllSc lves op 0 nt ‘! d y °1' They are sometimes noticed fluttering over a spot, and then suddenly precipitating 
^ 8 ' V; iUo w e a fi s h when rising to the surface. If the fish is too large to be swallowed whole, they beat it into pieces, 
of t Wo ( ^' *, picce se parately. The nest is placed at the end of a long gallery formed in the sandy banks to the 
^ S) whi c jj ^ llee Aet, which they excavate with their bill and feet. The female usually lays from six to seven 
‘ e Placed on ejected pellets of fish bones. 
cl 
2.‘ 7, Linn, vi em 
Pl(ii °i<les i en9ale »su Gmel ,77' ~ Gl ' aCU,a Atthis Gmel 
>’s Birds, pi. 11 . — Alcedo his- 
f. 
2 .. 
• toed; 
yzortn '[' 
intin, 
PL 
Pi. 
H mm ‘ P1 ; coL (descr.). 
Alcedo asi at ;„ ° r * f ' Linn ‘ Trans xiii. p. 172., PI. col. 2 39. 
Horgf j . min *- Zo °h Illustr. pi. 50. 
il,ln- Trails - xiii. p. 172., Zool. Res. in Java 
foV, 
Col. 
7.?*' Sernitor 9uata s • 
k ° Cephala Gmel. pi. enl . 356 _ f 
Illustr. pi. 151. 
iv. t. 37. f. 2. A., Shaw, Nat. 
1. 
9. A. cyanostigmo, Rupp. Faun. Abyss, t. 24. f. 2. 
10. A. cristata Linn. Briss. Orn. iv. t. 37- f. 3., Ph ell h 756. f. 
Kittl. Ivupf. Vog. t. 29- f. 3. 
11. A. vintsioides Eyd. et Gerv. Mag. de Zool. 1836., Ois. t. 74. 
12. A. erithaca Linn. Shaw, Nat. Misc. pi. 317- 
13. A. madagascariensis Linn. PI. enl. 778. f. 1. 
14. ? A. ccerulescens Vieill. N. Diet, d Hist. Nat. xix. p. 401. 
15. ? A. orientalis Gmel. Briss. Orn. iv. t. 37. L L A- 
16. ? A. flavicans Gmel. 
17. ? A. cyanoleuca Vieill. N. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. xix. p. 401. 
18. ? A. va.rw.gata Vieill. Ency. Meth. p. .’97. 
19. ? A. tricolor Vieill. Ency. Me'th. p. 39 8. 
* 
0ri ginall 
y establlshe d by Linnseus under the name of Ispida in 1735, but changed by him in 1756 to the above name. 
