KINGFISHERS 
A belted kingfisher perches motionless on a tree limb overhanging the 
water until its sharp eyes catch sight of a fish beneath the surface. Then it 
darts down like a bullet, totally submerging itself in its dive. A moment 
later it reappears, grasping its prey in its powerful beak. Returning to its 
perch, it kills the fish by beating it against the limb, and swallows it head 
first. The kingfisher rarely misses its catch. Unlike the osprey that feeds on 
fish, it does not make use of its claws for fish-catching. 
The kingfisher’s upper parts are slate-blue, while its breast is rust 
color. A legend explains that the kingfisher that was released from Noah’s 
ark flew toward the setting sun. On its back the blue sky was reflected, while 
its breast was scorched by the heat of the sun. 
Another legend regarding the kingfisher, known to the ancients as the 
halcyon , explains the origin of the expression “halcyon days.” Halcyons, 
Pliny records, lay and hatch their eggs in mid-winter, and during their 
brooding time, the sea is calm and navigable. 
The kingfisher’s nest is an excavation, usually in the bank of a stream 
or other body of water, though some nests have actually been found in 
railroad cuts. Male and female share the labor of excavating, digging with 
their large, powerful beaks and pushing out the loosened soil with their feet. 
The home consists of a passage about four inches in diameter and from 
four to twenty feet long, leading to a round chamber with a vaulted ceiling. 
The same burrow may be used for many seasons. The presence of a king¬ 
fisher’s nest may often be detected by the masses of regurgitated fish scales 
and bones in the vicinity. The mother kingfisher lays from five to seven 
eggs. The young are hatched naked and helpless with closed eyes. They 
grow slowly, and it is only after a month that they leave the nest. It is 
interesting to watch their early attempts at catching fish, which at first are 
quite unsuccessful. Their education in this important activity requires about 
two weeks of patient trial and error. 
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