p resen t species may be considered the type o f th e.la rg e slate-coloured g ro u p of
th e genus Ceryle, which has been separated b y some au th o rs as a d istin c t genus u nder the
title o f Streptoceryle. I t is a n ativ e o f N o rth America, e x ten d in g southwards as far as the
I sthm u s o f Panama, from wliich place i t has been sent by Mc’Leannan. In the n o rth e rn
r ta te s i t is mig ra to ry , d ep a rtin g southwards on the approach o f winter, and is stated by
P ro le sso r B a ird in h is valuable a rticle on th e “ Migrations o f American B ird s,” to be a
totye a re oth ers also in the Smithsonian In stitu tio n , from between th a t place and Lake
Win ip eg , an d a lso from Red Riv e r Settlement. Dr. Richardson, and Mr. Bernard Ross
have n o ted th e Be lted Kingfisher u p to 67° N. La t., and I have observed the b ird the
whole distance across the in te rio r, from H u d so n ’s Bay to the W e ste rn base o f th e Rocky
Mountains. I t remained, in 1857, on the lower p a rt o f th e Saskatcliawan R iv er till the
7 th o f Octo b e r; and I observed i t in 1859 a t Pembina, where th e 49 th pa rallel crosses
th e Red Riv e r o f th e n o rth , on the first o f M ay.”
“ D r. E . Cones” s a y s:— “ I ascertained th e existence o f th is b ird in Labrador from a
s ingle skin in th e possession o f the natives. T h ey considered i t a rare b ird .”
Mr. Dresser in h is paper on the “ Birds o f S outhern T ex as,”' observes— “ I t is common
in th e Rio Grande and th ro u g h o u t Texas, where i t remains to breed.” Mr. Salvin
observed th e Belted K ingfisher a t Belize, and again on the Golfo Dolce, and he informs me
th a t i t is to le rab ly common in th e w in te r on th e A tlan tic Coast and th ro u g h o u t the whole
co u n try o f Guatemala.
Mr. G. C. T ay lo r also remarks,^ th a t “ i t was seen on several occasions” in Honduras.
T h e p re sen t species was also observed b y Messrs. A. and E . Newton in St. C ro ix ,'
and is said b y them to be ap p aren tly a w in ter v isitan t, leaving th e island late in April.
I t chiefly frequents the Mangrove swamps and th e m ouths o f th e small s tre am s ; b u t sometim
es fishes h a lf a m ile o u t a t sea. I ts lo u d call has been well likened to the noise made
b y sp rin g in g a watchman’s rattle.
I ts food does n o t always seem to consist o f fish, as Mr. A. Newton continues, “ the
stomach o f one I skinned contained shells o f crabs.”
Mr. E . Newton fu rth e r remarks, “ I saw wh at I believe to have been a b ird o f th is
species on m y passage home in October 1858, in lat. 26° 1 7 ' N., long. 5 7 ' 2 8 ' W. I t flew '
I'ound th e steamer several times w ith in g u n s h o t; and I could clearly make o u t the dark
b e lt across its b reast.”
Dr. Bryanri records i t from St. Domingo and observes, “ Reichenbach has described
th is b ird from St. Domingo as a species, as he did many o th e r birds, with o u t ever seeing
them, in th e hope th a t some one would discover th a t a difference existed, and he w ould get
th e c red it o f it. In th e p resen t case he was u n fo rtu n a te .”
Profe ssor Reichenbach, i t sho u ld be added, confesses th a t he is unaware o f th e exact
lo ca lity o f th e b ird h e calls domingensis, an d to ju d g e from h is p late, i t looks like a made
u p specimen from C. torquata and C. maxima (from Afric a ), to which la s t species P rofessor
Schlegel (/. c.) seems inclined to refer i t ; b u t n a tu ra lly h esitate s to p u t th e name o f
domingensis as a synonym o f an African species.
Two specimens o f the Belted Kingfisher were obtained in Ire lan d in 1845, one a t
Annsbrook, and th e o th er a t Luggela, Wicklow. This is the only instance o f its
occurrence in E u ro p e , b u t afte r read in g Andubon’s note recorded below concerning
th e power o f flig h t o f th is species, we o u g h t n o t to be su rp rised a t its appearance in
th is p a rt o f th e world. Moreover, th e tim e o f th e y e a r (Oct. 26) on which the first
specimen was sh o t would seem to su g g est th a t the b ird s, iu making one o f th e ir long
a. Ibis. 1863, p. 67.
d. Ibis. 1860, p. 116.
b. Proc. Phil. acad. 1861, p. 217. c. Ibis. 1865, p. 471.
e. Ibis. 1859, p. 67. f. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 1866, p. 95.
flights a t the period o f m ig ratio n were forced o u t o f th e ir course by an adverse wind, and
th u s u nw ittin g ly driven to cross th e Atlantic.
From Wilson’s well-known work, I have ex tra c ted th e following remarks, somewhat
lengthy, perhaps, b u t o f g rea t interest, as being the firs t o rig in a l observations on th e
h abits of th is species.
“ Amidst the ro ar o f th e cataract, o r over th e foam o f a to rren t, h e s its perched u pon
an overbanging bough, glancing his p iercing eye in every directio n below for his ready
prey, which with a c ertain c ircular plunge he sweeps from th e ir n ativ e element and
swallows in an in stan t. His voice which is n o t u n lik e th e tw irlin g o f a watchman’s
ra ttle , is n a tu ra lly loud, h arsh and su d d en ; b u t is softened by th e sound o f th e brawling
streams and cascades among which he g enerally rambles. He courses along th e windings
o f a brook or riv e r, a t a small h e ig h t above th e surface, sometimes suspending h im se lf by
the rap id action o f his wings like c ertain species o f hawks, ready to pounce on th e prey
below; now and tlien se ttlin g on an old dead limb to reconnoitre. Mill-dams a rc p a rticu la
rly visited by th is feathered fish er; and the sound o f his pipe is as well known to the
m ille r as th e r a ttlin g of his own hopper. Rapid streams with h ig h perpendicular banks,
p a rticu la rly if th ey be o f a h a rd clayey o r sandy n a tu re , are also favorite places o f resort
for th is b ird ; n o t only because in such places th e small fish are more exposed to view;
h u t becau.se those steep and d ry banks are the chosen s itu a tio n s for h is nest. lu to these
he digs with b ill and claws, horizontally, sometimes to th e e x te n t o f four and five feet,
a t th e distance o f a foot o r two from th e surface. The few materials h e takes in a re n o t
always placed at the ex tremity o f th e h o le ; th a t he and his mate may have room to tu rn
w ith convenience. The eggs a re five, p u re white, and the firs t brood usu ally comes o u t
about th e beginning o f Ju n e , o r sometimes sooner, according to th a t p a rt o f th e co untry
where th ey reside. On the shores o f Kentucky riv e r near the town o f Fran k fo rt, I found
th e female s ittin g early in March. They are v e ry tenacious o f th e ir h au n ts, breed in g for
several successive years in th e same hole, and do n o t readily forsake it, even th o u g h i t be
visited.”
“ Tho u g h the Kingfisher generally remains vd th us, in Pennsylvania, u n til the
commencement o f cold weather, i t is seldom seen here iu w in te r; b u t retu rn s to us early
in April. In N o rth and South Carolina, I observed numbers of these b irds in th e months
o f F e b ru a ry and March. I also frequently noticed th em on the shores o f th e Ohio, in
F eb ru ary , as h ig h up as th e mo u th of th e Muskingum.”
Au d ubon’s notes from h is ‘ Ornithological Biography,’ are very copious, and I have
therefore only made use o f such portions as will serve to give a fuller in sig h t in to the
h ahits o f the species. H e s a y s :—
“ The flig h t o f th is b ird is rapid, and is prolonged according to its necessities,
extending a t times to considerable distances, in which case i t is performed h ig h in the air.
When, for instance, the whole course o f one o f o ur N o rth ern Rivers becomes frozen, the
Kingfisher, instead o f skimming closely over the surface th a t no longer allows i t to supply
its e lf with food, passes h ig h over the tallest trees, and takes advantage o f every sh o rt cut
which th e situ atio n o f the riv e r affords. By th is means i t soon reaches a milder climate.
This is also frequently th e case, when i t seems tire d o f th e kin d o f fish th a t occurs in a
lake, and removes to an o th er in a d ire c t line, passing over th e forests, n o t unfrequently
by a course o f twent.y o r th ir ty miles towards th e in te rio r o f th e countiy. I ts motions
when on wing consist o f a series o f flaps, ab o u t five o r s ix in number, followed by a d ire c t
glide, w ith o u t any apparent undulation. I t moves in the same way -when flying closely
over th e water.”
“ I f in th e course o f such excursions, th e b ird passes over a small pool, i t suddenly
checks itse lf iu its career, poises itse lf in th e a ir, like a Sparrow-hawk o r K e stril, and
inspects the water beneath, to discover whether th e re may be fishes in i t suitable to its
taste. Should i t find this to be the case, i t continues poised for a few seconds, dashes
spirally headlong in to th e water, seizes a fish, and a lights ou th e n earest tree o r stump,
where it swallows its prey in a moment.”
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