N
f l
s ittin g in each c™ ! ' S o m r i o l f u t o n ° * 5 a r i l e l ' f r r f t * ° *»® " ’»oI®
bwanson, ni his “ Birds o f W e st Afric a ” (Vol « 1 i nomenclature o f th is bird from
d istmct, u n d e r th e name o iI s p k la b i d n c t f T h l '& t f l ’tW 't o ! “ »'® ®s
second n a rrow b a r o f black aVross the chest D Y ln ld ! * “ "'® »»® *®
second b e lt to to e female. I preserved tw en ty o n / ™ c o n tra iy , a ttrib u te s this
o th ers o f the p a rty . In all the sex was c a r e f tlu n o te d m,d''?I collected by
having a serond band, which was wan tin g in toe fem ah / d / '' » ' “ .S?®» ®f ‘»® male
before its first mo u lt, has m any o f th e featores on in re . »“ ■''■ fr»® y®nng,
below the band, delicately tipped ivith a s l a t W a / / f » o f t above and
Ceryle rudis is m o st e x t e L l e , f r t n Tbe range o f
f u rth e s t p a rts o f CHna and J a p a n I t is evidenito r e I • P®,®! ‘'®°'' »'oP® *“ ‘»®
“ T t S t o ; | - i f v I r r i f m t o f i r U t o ^ ^ ^ ^
W h en in search o f food i t n n g h t f r e o S t t o be sY ! i t® / * ! TY®-'fr ®"®»'®®®® »™d.
till I t suddenly dropped o n some fish, iv in / c o m p l e t e lv h e n e ^ li stag n an t pools
m g o f its w ings, as i t th u s poised itself, w™“e x trZ e ty ^ ^ ^ i « " ^ r -
n o t often h e a rd ; th e colour o f th e ec^o-g is white r The note is a shrill tw itte r,
► 1 ^ “ " * - i a a v r r E » R . v v K . > ,
coast o f th!^ M S t * l n ' d t n L ' t l i T t ' o f t t o T e d t e T t o r t *
in h ab itan t o f th e coast. On the o th er h an d i t is n o t w « n f • 7 7 ®C“rceIy a reg u lar
on canals where s tan d in g w ater is, on flooded meadows a n dY d d 's I®“™’' *»® ®®»"’
and Its trib u ta rie s, south-westwai-d to D in r ? „ d T „ 1 7 1 re / ’ "I ™ ‘»® f«® Nile
vaxv/ gxwuxxAi, uuu sciuoni pounces irom th e la tte r on ii-« nvATr i? 'juflight
over shallow clear w a te r, also r ig h t across toe r iv S oi from Z ? ■ ‘l ‘' 1 ? ' * "
sometimes v e ry low, g enera lly h owev e^ aevPvnT \ ? another,
n o t v ery swift L t s t l f g h t , a n i s t t o M b ) q to c t f l u t t e r i l lm l t o ! : 7 ^ ^ ■
m g Idee th a t o i Alcedo ispida, and it rises a id faUs a c c o X l to 111 and w i t r “®’ " /
One often sees it, a fte r tak in g a s ta r t by several quick flaps a n ! “S » / '
a d istance, suddenly with one quick movement a lte r the direotirm /vC +p glid in g on for
stop and hover. When h overing th e bill ia liplrl i suddenly
b ody aud ta il also ra th e r l o w e r e 7 “ to i ! c it e ! & /® » » "! P“ * ‘»®
lay s its feathers close to to e body, and d ro p llik e f s t o l f totn / ^
over te n seconds below the surface. I t sehtom misses its I l k ®®®™™S 0*®»
c ap tu red e ith e r on tbe irin g o r a t one o f i t s / e l t u / n ?®™.“ '® ft®.»®» » »»®
a t th e same time chirpey, o r a t times snickerv Dnr +i ' • ^ voice is a shrill whistle,
ne st, consisting o f a small heap o f clean d ry grass, is placed in a horizontal hole about
a rm ’s d epth in a steep bank, and contains four to six p u re wh ite roundish eggs, th e shell
o f which is ra th e r ro u g h compared w ith th a t o f Alcedo ispida. Often several nest-holes
a re close together. * * The plumage o f the young much resembles th a t o f the adult.
* * There is scarcely any b ird on th e Nile tam e r th an th e Blaek-and-White Kmgfisher.”
F o r th e following n o te I am indebted to th e kindness o f my friend Mr. J . J . Monteiro:—
“ I have observed th is Kingfisher freq u en tly on all th a t p a rt o f th e West Coast o f
Africa th a t I am acquainted with, namely, from Loango to L ittle F ish Bay. They are to
be seen in numbers on every riv e r, lake, o r marsh, whether sa lt o r fresh. T h e ir usual
h ab it is to keep steadily in the air in one spot, five or six feet above th e surface o f the water,
b y a heavy flapping o f the wings, with th e ir beak h anging down, and now and th en di’opping
like a stone to capture th e small fish upon which th ey feed; th is th ey fly off with to a twig
o r b ran ch to swallow, and rise to hover again as before. They a re v e ry noisy, u tte r in g a
loud trillin g note o r screech. The natives capture q uantities o f small fish by <iriving a row
o f sticks apross the shallow rivers and lagoons to su p p o rt a dam o f twigs and rushes, leaving
openings a t intervals in w hich a re placed baskets o r trap s to catch th e fish as th ey p ass out.
These liingfishers are so abundant tb a t I have often seen th em standing one on each stick,
s tre tch in g in a long lin e across the lagoon, th eir s h o " ^ plumage b rig h tly reflected on the
still surface o f the placid waters, forming a v e ry striking and p re tty sight. Th ey a re very
tame, taking no notice o f people passing b y qu ite close to th em ; are v e ry h a rd to kill,
req u irin g a good and well-directed charge o f shot to b rin g th em down even a t a comparativ
e ly sh o rt distance.”
Mr. Thomas Ayres, speaking o f th is bird in S outh-Eastern Africa, s ta te s :—
“ Eye black ; feeds entirely on f is h ; frequents th e lakes and rivers near th e c o a s t; n o t
found in th e interior. This b ird hovers over the w ater before d a rtin g down, and if not
successful flies on fu rth e r and hovers ag ain ; having caught a fish, i t flies to a bough or
post to swallow it.”
Dr. J e rd o n , in his “ Birds o f In d ia ,” wi’ites as follows:—
“ Mr. Strickland separated th e In d ian bird from C. rudis, sta tin g th a t i t had more
white on th e u pper p a r t s ; b u t i t is n o t generally allowed to be distinct. Indeed his C. varia
appears to have been founded on a newly-moulted specimen, as contrasted w ith one having
worn and abraded plumage. The Spotted Kingfisher is found over all In d ia, Biunnah, and
Malayana ; also Western Asia, Africa, and the South o f Eu ro p e occasionally. I t is v e ry
common and abu n d an t on th e banks o f rivers, back waters, and canals ; also on the edges
o f tanks, and even o f pools and ditches b y the roadside. Unlike th e other Kingfishers,
which watch for th e ir p rey from a fixed statio n and th en d a rt doivn obliquely on it, this
one searches for its p rey on the wing, every now an d then hovering over a piece o f water,
and, on spying a fish, d a rtin g down perpendicularly on it, and r are ly failing in its aim. Now
and th en d u rin g its descent i t is baulked, and tu rn s off from its swoop ; b u t I never saw
one plu n g e in to th e w ater and tu rn off from its swoop. 1 cannot say th a t I have observed
i t stay so long u nder w ater as Pearson would imply when he states th a t ‘ it plunges down
dead as a stone into tho w ater, aud remains below i t so long th a t th e ripple over the surface
clears away some tim e before i t comes u p again.’ Sundevall notices its holding its ta il
erect when sittin g . I t makes its n est in holes in th e banks o f riv e rs.”
Mr. R Swinhoe (I.e.), who m et with th is Kmgfisher in Amoy, says th a t it is “ very
common on the river, where i t is to be found a t all seasons ; poises on th e wing a t a h eight
above th e wate r, and drops suddenly down to catch its prey. I have, however, seen it
strike obliquely when flying- close to the surface of the w ater.”
Tho description and figure o f th e ad u lt bfrd are tak en from a fine specimen in my
collection from Bengal, th a t o f th e y oung bfrd from a specimen obtained in West Africa by
He e r Sala.