Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/558

* KINGFISH. 506 KINGFISHER. (4) A fisli of the genus Menticii-rhus, of the family' f^ciirnid.Te ( roakers' ), speeilieally the 'hake,' 'seaiiiink,' or "NDithoni whitinj;'! Mrnticir- rhiis nnxatilis) . one of the most highly esteemed food-fishes in the Xorthorn markets. Jt is espe- cially numerous and well known in the neighbor- w3 NEW YORK KiNtiFisn iMenticirrhus Afnericfiaus). hood of Xew York, where it appears early in the spring, along with the sqnctcaguc, and is likely to keep in company with it, for both seem fond of running up rivers to a point where the water is decidedly freshened between tides. Tlius they ustend the Hudson as far, at least, as Ossining. They are apt to run in schools, and they seem to prefer a hard, sandy bottom, the edge of chan- nels, and the neighborhood of sand-bars. They gather aliout oyster-beds, and may be seen fight- ing for the worms and crustaceans dislodged in taking up the oysters. The kingfish takes a bait of pieces of clam or soft fish readily, and alTords excellent sjHJrt. The numbers seen and taken vary greatly, however, from year to year. A closely related species, the whiting {Mri)ticirrhus alburniis), is the one more usually called 'king- fish' in the Carolinas and southward. See ■VirriiXG. KING-'FISHER. A city and the county-seat of Kingfisher County, Okla., 30 miles west of Guthrie: on the Chicajjo. Kock Island and Pa- cific Railroad (Map: tlklahoma, K 3). It has considerable trade as a dislril)uting and export centre for a oroductive farming and stock-raising district. Population, in 1890, 1134; in 1900, 2301. KINGFISHER. A vridely used name for the non-jiasserinc birds of the family AIcedinid.T, characterized by the curious .syndactyl feet, the outer and middle toes being coherent for half their length. In addition to this peculiarity, the kingfishers have large, straight bills, with deep gape; the tongue is very small or rudimentary; the nostrils are basal; the tarsi are very short and the tibiie are naked below. The family is very well defined and is related to the hornbills (Bucerotid.x) . In their manners and breeding habits, there is a remarkable uniformity among the kingfishers. All are rather solitary birds. They sit motionless while watching for prey, and seize it, when discovered, by a quick, vigorous rush, and then return to their post to swallow it at leisure. All breed in holes and lay smooth, white, more or less spherical eggs. The family includes something like 1:)0 species, the geogi'aph- ical distribution of which is unusually peculiar and interesting. Only six. or perhaps eisht. spe- cies occur in all of America, and these all belong to a single genus (Cervle). which also occurs in the warmer parts of the Old World. Ttie Papuan region is the centre of abundance for the family, having thirteen genera, of which eight are endemic. From that centre, the family fades away in all directions. Australia having fmir genera, the rient;il region six. and the Kthiojiian region six. The kinglishers fall very miturally into two subfamilies, though the ditl'erences be- tween them are more in hal)ils than in structure; the Daeelonime are insectivorous and reptile- eating birds with a depressed bill, and the Alcedi- nina- are the true kinglisliers, living .very largely on fish and having ;i compressed bill. D.vcKi.oxix.E. The Dacclonina> are all Old- orUl birils, often found far from w:iter. to which they seldom resort: they breed in lioles in trees and ]iiek their insect and reptile food from the groinid by darting down on it from above. About SO species are known, the most interesting of which belimg to the gcner.a Daeolo, Halcyon, Tanysiptcra, and Ceyx. The first of these in- cludes the famous laugiling-jackass (q.v. ) of Australia, renowned not only for its discordant, laugliing cry, but for being a kingtislier which never fishes nor goes near the w;iter. For Diis latter reason, all the Dacelonin:e are sonjctinies called (at least in books) 'kiughunters,' in dis- tinction from true 'kingfishers.' The genus Halcyon, or Alcyone, is sjiecially characteristic of the Kthiopian region, and the subfamily is sometimes called Halcyonina' from them. They are called 'wood kingfishers,' and feed cluelly on insects, but eat lizards, and wlicn hard ])ressed will resort to streams and catch fish. The inner front toe is short and rudimentarj'. The king- fishers of the genus Tanysiptcra are peculiar to New Guinea and neighl)oring islands and are remarkable for having only ten rectriees, instead of twelve, the middle pair of which are lenfithened and deprived of barbs for a part of their length, so that they are racquet-shaped, like those of some motmots. The genus Ceyx is notable for the absence of the second toe. so that the feet are only three-toed: they are small kingfishers of the Indian region. .i.rEmxi..E. In the 'true' kingfishers, of the subfamily Alccdinina', we have to deal with birds of moderate or small size and great beauty of plumace. They feed primarily on fish and are therefore found about ponds, lakes, or rivers, or by the borders of the sea. They breed in holes in banks, which they themselves dig, sometimes to a depth of six or eight feet; it is slow work and occupies a pair of birds a week or more. The common Kuropean kingfisher {Alccilo ispid^i) and the belted kingfisher {Ccii/le aloj/on) of America are familiar and typical examples of this group. The former is an exquisite little bird, not imich larger than a his sparrow, with the upper parts of the head, the scapulars, and the wing-coverts dark green, the last two with light greenish-blue spots and markings; the middle of the back is bright beryl blue and the short tail is azure blue: the throat is white and the rest of the under parts are deep cinnamon. It is a widely dis- tributed bird in Europe, and prefers the smaller streams and little ponds in parks, and besides fish, eats insects, crustaceans, mollusks. and worms. Tt is probable that this bird is the halcyon of the ancients, about which many won- derful fables were current as to its power to quell storms, its flnatins nest, and the stillness of the winds during its breeding season, which was thought to be in winter. Our American 'belted' kingfisher is a much