The Natural History of Ireland/Volume 1/The Belted Kingfisher

BELTED KINGFISHER.

Alcedo alcyon, Linn.

Two individuals of this species have been met with about the same period.

They were thus noticed in a communication which I made to the Annals of Natural History, for December, 1845. "I have the pleasure to record the occurrence of this North American bird in Ireland; a specimen (as I learn by letter from T. W. Warren, Esq., of Dublin, dated Nov. 21, 1845,) having been shot by Frederick A. Smith, Esq., at Annsbrook, county of Meath, on the 26th of October last. It has fortunately been preserved, and on being shown to Mr. R. Ball, was identified as A. Alcyon : this gentle- man considers that the full strong plumage of the specimen denotes a truly wild bird, and not an individual that had escaped from confinement. According to the descriptions of Wilson and Richardson, it is a female, and not, at all events, in younger plumage, than that of the second year. Mr. Warren adds, that when at the shop of Mr. Glennon, the well-known bird- preserver, on the day before the date of his letter, the gamekeeper of Mr. Latouche of Luggela, county of Wicklow, called to mention that he had, within the last few days, seen a very large kingfisher, at a stream connecting the lake of Luggela with Lough Dan. He saw the bird very well, as it admitted of his approach within twenty yards : his description agreeing with the A. Alcyon, the specimen was shown to him, and he at once identified his bird as being of the same species. On his return to the country, he again met with and shot the bird, which proved to be A. Alcyon. It is now in the collection of Mr. Warren; the other was purchased for the museum of Trinity College, Dublin. This kingfisher, said to be the only species inhabiting North America, is migratory there, and like other birds which have visited Ireland and Great Britain from that continent, has appeared about the period of migration. As an American bird, it is fully treated of by Wilson,Footnote 1 Audubon,Footnote 2 and Richardson Footnote 3. The last author states, that in summer 'it frequents all the large rivers in the fur countries up to the 67th degree of latitude/ It retires to winter in the Southern States, and the West India islands (Wilson and Richardson). Audubon remarks, that 'it is extremely hardy, and those individuals winch migrate northward to breed, seldom return towards our Southern States, where they spend the winter, until absolutely forced to do so by the great severity of the weather/ vol. v.p. 548. Tins is, I believe, the first notice of the species being met with on the eastern side of the Atlantic."


 * Footnote 1 Sir W. Jardine's edit., vol. i. p. 348.
 * Footnote 2 Orn. Biog. vols. i. and v.
 * Footnote 3 Fauna Bor. Amer. p. 339.