Page:Bird-lore Vol 08.djvu/105

 The Belted Kingfisher

By WILLIAM DUTCHER

President of National Association of Audubon Societies

Rational association of Aubunon Societies EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 19

The Kingfishers are a large, interesting and curious family of birds, quite as much so as their relatives, the Cuckoos. They are distributed over the greater part of the globe, and some of the species will repay special study on account of their peculiarities or beauty of plumage. Australia possesses a very large species which has such a loud and discordant note that it is commonly known as the 'Laughing Jackass.' It is sometimes brought to this country for exhibition in zoological parks or traveling shows. The common Kingfisher of Europe, with its blue-green upper parts and its rich chestnut breast, is an example of striking and attractive plumage. Among the many legends connected with the Kingfisher, one tells us that originally all the members of this family were clothed in dull-colored plumage, but the Kingfisher that was liberated from Noah's ark flew toward the setting sun, and on its back was reflected the sky, while its breast was scorched by the rays of the heat-giving orb. Another fable states that Alcyone, daughter of Æolus, grieved so deeply for her husband, who was shipwrecked, that she threw herself into the sea, and was immediately changed into a Kingfisher.

Pliny says, "Halcyons lay and sit about Midwinter when daies be shortest; and the time whiles they are broodie is called the halcyon daies: for during that season the sea is calm and navigable." Even now the word halcyon represents calm and peaceful days devoted to pleasant outings in the woods or fields, along the ocean beaches, or paddling up some quite river, all the while learning to know the trees, or wild flowers, and the songs and forms of the birds that are everywhere seen about us.

Such are the restful days when the school and work are thrown aside and the tired brain and body drink in great draughts of life and vigor. It is then that we see our own Belted Kingfisher, a bird about twelve inches long, perched on some twig overhanging the water. It sits as motionless as though carved from stone until its watchful eye sees a fish in the water below it, when it dives for its prey, disappearing entirely beneath the surface. It rarely ever misses its aim, and on reappearing a wriggling fish is seen held in the bird's powerful mandibles. The feathered fisherman flies directly back to his favorite perch, from which the plunge was made, and, after beating its captive on the limb until it is dead, swallows it head