The PURPLE KINGFISHER (_Ceyx tridactyla_), one of the most remarkable
members of this family, is of a bright orange, gleaming with peach-colour
on the back, and shading from rust-red into chestnut-brown on the neck and
sides of breast; the rest of the under side is saffron-yellow. The large
wing-covers are deep black, the shoulders and exterior borders of the
wings chestnut-brown, the quills blackish brown, with a rust-red edge to
the inner web; the tail-feathers are rust-red. This species is five inches
long and eight broad; the wing measures two inches and a quarter, and the
tail three-quarters of an inch. This beautiful bird is met with over the
whole extent of India and Ceylon, but is nowhere numerous. Fish and some
of the smaller inhabitants of the water constitute its usual food.
* * * * *
The GREY KINGFISHERS (_Ceryle_) exhibit, in an eminent degree, the
admirable skill with which their bodies have been adapted to the situation
they are destined to occupy in the great scheme of creation. Although
resembling the True Kingfishers in many particulars, their wings are
considerably longer and more pointed than in those birds, and far more
available as instruments of locomotion; the long, straight beak is
compressed at its sides, and pointed at its tip; the almost lustreless
plumage is of comparatively sombre hue, and differs more or less in the
sexes. Most of the numerous members of this group inhabit America; some
few are met with in Asia and Africa, while Europeans may lay claim to
one species that may now be regarded as naturalised, on account of the
frequency of its visits to our continent.