[1] It is called in some parts the bee-martin.
[2] Two easy modes of discriminating them externally may be
mentioned. All the _Laniidae_ and _Muscicapidae_ have but _nine_
primary quills in their wings, and their tarsi are covered with
scales in front only; while in the _Tyrannidae_ there are ten
primaries, and the tarsal scales extend the whole way round. The more
recondite distinction in the structure of the trachea seems to have
been first detected by Macgillivray, who wrote the anatomical
descriptions published in 1839 by Audubon (_Orn. Biography_, v. 421,
422); but its value was not appreciated till the publication of
Johannes Müller's classical treatise on the vocal organs of Passerine
birds (_Abhandl. k. Akad. Wissensch. Berlin_, 1845, pp. 321, 405).
KING-CRAB, the name given to an Arachnid, belonging to the order
Xiphosurae, of the grade Delobranchia or Hydropneustea. King-crabs, of
which four, possibly five, existing species are known, were formerly
referred to the genus _Limulus_, a name still applied to them in all
zoological textbooks. It has recently been shown, however, that the
structural differences between some of the species are sufficiently
numerous and important to warrant the recognition of three
genera--_Xiphosura_, of which _Limulus_ is a synonym, _Tachypleus_ and
_Carcinoscorpius_. In _Xiphosura_ the genital operculum structurally
resembles the gill-bearing appendages in that the inner branches consist
of three distinct segments, the distal of which is lobate and projects
freely beyond the margin of the adjacent distal segment of the outer
branch; the entosternite (see ARACHNIDA) has two pairs of antero-lateral
processes, and in the male only the ambulatory appendages of the second
pair are modified as claspers. In _Tachypleus_ and _Carcinoscorpius_, on
the other hand, the genital operculum differs from the gill-bearing
appendages in that the inner branches consist of two segments, the
distal of which are apically pointed, partially or completely fused in
the middle line, and do not project beyond the distal segments of the
outer branches; the entosternite has only one pair of antero-lateral
processes, and in the male the second and third pairs of ambulatory
limbs are modified as claspers. _Tachypleus_ differs from
_Carcinoscorpius_ in possessing a long movable spur upon the fourth
segment of the sixth ambulatory limb, in having the postanal spine
triangular in section instead of round, and the claspers in the male
hemichelate, owing to the suppression of the immovable finger, which is
well developed in _Carcinoscorpius_. At the present time king-crabs have
a wide but discontinuous distribution. _Xiphosura_, of which there is
but one species, _X. polyphemus_, ranges along the eastern side of North
America from the coast of Maine to Yucatan. _Carcinoscorpius_, which is
also represented by a single species, _C. rotundicauda_, extends from
the Bay of Bengal to the coast of the Moluccas and the Philippines,
while of the two better-known species of _Tachypleus_, _T. gigas_ (=
_moluccanus_) ranges from Singapore to Torres Straits, and _T.
tridentatus_ from Borneo to southern Japan. A third species, _T.
hoeveni_, has been recorded from the Moluccas. But although _Xiphosura_
is now so widely sundered geographically from _Tachypleus_ and
_Carcinoscorpius_, the occurrence of the remains of extinct species of
king-crabs in Europe, both in Tertiary deposits and in Triassic,
Jurassic and Cretaceous strata, suggests that there was formerly a
continuous coast-line, with tropical or temperate conditions, extending
from Europe westward to America, and eastward to southern Asia. There
are, however, no grounds for the assumption that the supposed coast-line
between America and Europe synchronized with that between Europe and
south Asia. King-crabs do not appear to differ from each other in
habits. Except in the breeding season they live in water ranging in
depth from about two to six fathoms, and creep about the bottom or bury
themselves in the sand. Their food consists for the most part of soft
marine worms, which are picked up in the nippers, thrust into the mouth,
and masticated by the basal segments of the appendages between which the
mouth lies. At the approach of the breeding season, which in the case of
_Xiphosura polyphemus_ is in May, June and July, king-crabs advance in
pairs into very shallow water at the time of the high tides, the male
holding securely to the back of the female by means of his clasping
nippers. No actual union between the sexes takes place, the spawn of the
female being fertilized by the male at the time of being laid in the
sand or soon afterwards. This act accomplished, the two retreat again
into deeper water. Deposited in the mud or sand near high-water mark,
the eggs are eventually hatched by the heat of the sun, to which they
are exposed every day for a considerable time. The newly hatched young
is minute and subcircular in shape, but bears a close resemblance to its
parents except in the absence of the caudal spine and in the presence of
a fringe of stiff bristles round the margin of the body. During growth
it undergoes a succession of moults, making its exit from the old
integument through a wide split running round the edge of the carapace.
Moulting is effected in exactly the same way in scorpions, Pedipalpi,
and normally in spiders. The caudal spine appears at the second moult
and gradually increases in length with successive changes of the skin.
This organ is of considerable importance, since it enables the king-crab
to right itself when overturned by rough water or other causes. Without
it the animal would remain helpless like an upturned turtle, because it
is unable to reach the ground with its legs when lying on its back.
Before the tail is sufficiently developed to be used for that purpose,
the young king-crab succeeds in regaining the normal position by
flapping its flattened abdominal appendages and rising in the water by
that means. The king-crab fishery is an industry of some importance in
the United States, and in the East Indies the natives eat the animal and
tip their lances and arrows with the caudal spine. They also use the
hollow empty shell as a water-ladle or pan--hence the name "pan-fish" or
"saucepan-crab" by which the animal is sometimes known. Fossil
king-crabs have been recorded from strata of the Tertiary and Secondary
epochs, and related but less specialized types of the same order are
found in rocks of Palaeozoic age. Of these the most important are
_Belinurus_ of the Carboniferous, _Protolimulus_ of the Devonian, and
_Hemiaspis_ of the Silurian periods. These ancient forms differ
principally from true king-crabs in having the segments of the
opisthosoma or hinder half of the body distinctly defined instead of
welded into a hexagonal shield. (R. I. P.)
[Illustration: FIG. 1.
1, _Limulus polyphemus_, adult (dorsal aspect).
2, _Limulus polyphemus_, young (dorsal aspect).
3, _Prestwichia rotundata_, Coal M., Shropshire.
4, _Prestwichia Birtwelli_, Coal M., Lancashire.
5, _Neolimulus falcatus_, U. Silurian, Lanark.
6, _Hemiaspis limuloides_, L. Ludlow, Leintwardine, Shropshire.
7, _Pseudoniscus aculeatus_, U. Silurian, Russia.]
KINGFISHER (Ger.[1] _Königsfischer_; Walloon _Roi-péheux_ = _pêcheur_),
the _Alcedo ispida_ of ornithologists, one of the most beautiful and
well-known of European birds, being found, though nowhere very
abundantly, in every European country, as well as in North Africa and
South-Western Asia as far as Sindh. Its blue-green back and rich
chestnut breast render it conspicuous as it frequents the streams and
ponds whence it procures its food, by plunging almost perpendicularly
into the water, and emerging a moment after with the prey--whether a
small fish, crustacean, or an aquatic insect--it has captured. In hard
frosts it resorts to the sea-shore, but a severe winter is sure to
occasion a great mortality in the species, for many of its individuals
seem unable to reach the tidal waters where only in such a season they
could obtain sustenance; and to this cause rather than any other is
perhaps to be ascribed its general scarcity. Very early in the year it
prepares its nest, which is at the end of a tunnel bored by itself in a
bank, and therein the six or eight white, glossy, translucent eggs are
laid, sometimes on the bare soil, but often on the fishbones which,
being indigestible, are thrown up in pellets by the birds; and, in any
case, before incubation is completed these _rejectamenta_ accumulate so
as to form a pretty cup-shaped structure that increases in bulk after
the young are hatched, but, mixed with their fluid excretions and with
decaying fishes brought for their support, soon becomes a dripping fetid
mass.
The kingfisher is the subject of a variety of legends and superstitions,
both classical and medieval. Of the latter one of the most curious is
that having been originally a plain grey bird it acquired its present
bright colours by flying towards the sun on its liberation from Noah's
ark, when its upper surface assumed the hue of the sky above it and its
lower plumage was scorched by the heat of the setting orb to the tint it
now bears.[2] More than this, the kingfisher was supposed to possess
many virtues. Its dried body would avert thunderbolts, and if kept in a
wardrobe would preserve from moths the woollen stuffs therein laid, or
hung by a thread to the ceiling of a chamber would point with its bill
to the quarter whence the wind blew. All readers of Ovid (_Metam._, bk.
xi.) know how the faithful but unfortunate Ceyx and Alcyone were changed
into kingfishers--birds which bred at the winter solstice, when through
the influence of Aeolus, the wind-god and father of the fond wife, all
gales were hushed and the sea calmed so that their floating nest might
ride uninjured over the waves during the seven proverbial "Halcyon
days"; while a variant or further development of the fable assigned to
the halcyon itself the power of quelling storms.[3]
The common kingfisher of Europe is the representative of a well-marked
family of birds, the _Alcedinidae_ or _Halcyonidae_ of ornithologists,
which is considered by most authorities[4] to be closely related to the
_Bucerotidae_ (see HORNBILL); but the affinity can scarcely be said as
yet to be proved. Be that as it may, the present family forms the
subject of an important work by Bowdler Sharpe.[5] Herein are described
one hundred and twenty-five species, nearly all of them being
beautifully figured by Keulemans, and that number may be taken even now
as approximately correct; for, while the validity of a few has been
denied by some eminent men, nearly as many have since been made known,
and it seems likely that two or three more described by older writers
may yet be rediscovered. These one hundred and twenty-five species
Sharpe groups in nineteen genera, and divides into two sub-families,
_Alcedininae_ and _Daceloninae_,[6] the one containing five and the
other fourteen genera. With existing anatomical materials perhaps no
better arrangement could have been made, but the method afterwards
published by Sundevall (_Tentamen_, pp. 95, 96) differs from it not
inconsiderably. Here, however, it will be convenient to follow Sharpe.
Externally, which is almost all we can at present say, kingfishers
present a great uniformity of structure. One of their most remarkable
features is the feebleness of their feet, and the union (syndactylism)
of the third and fourth digits for the greater part of their length;
while, as if still further to show the comparatively functionless
character of these members, in two of the genera, _Alcyone_ and _Ceyx_,
the second digit is aborted, and the birds have but three toes. In most
forms the bill does not differ much from that of the common _Alcedo
ispida_, but in _Syma_ its edges are serrated, while in _Carcineutes_,
_Dacelo_ and _Melidora_ the maxilla is prolonged, becoming in the last a
very pronounced hook. Generally the wings are short and rounded, and the
tail is in many forms inconspicuous; but in _Tanysiptera_, one of the
most beautiful groups, the middle pair of feathers is greatly elongated
and spatulate, while this genus possesses only ten rectrices, all the
rest having twelve. Sundevall relies on a character not noticed by
Sharpe, and makes his principal divisions depend on the size of the
scapulars, which in one form a mantle, and in the other are so small as
not to cover the back. The _Alcedinidae_ are a cosmopolitan family, but
only one genus, _Ceryle_, is found in America, and that extends as well
over a great part of the Old World, though not into the Australian
region, which affords by far the greater number both of genera and
species, having no fewer than ten of the former and fifty-nine of the
latter peculiar to it.[7]
In habits kingfishers display considerable diversity, though all, it
would seem, have it in common to sit at times motionless on the watch
for their prey, and on its appearance to dart upon it, seize it as they
fly or dive, and return to a perch where it may be conveniently
swallowed. But some species, and especially that which is the type of
the family, are not always content to await at rest their victim's
showing itself. They will hover like a hawk over the waters that conceal
it, and, in the manner already described, precipitate themselves upon
it. This is particularly the way with those that are fishers in fact as
well as in name; but no inconsiderable number live almost entirely in
forests, feeding on insects, while reptiles furnish the chief sustenance
of others. The last is characteristic of at least one Australian form,
which manages to thrive in the driest districts of that country, where
not a drop of water is to be found for miles, and the air is at times
heated to a degree that is insupportable by most animals. The belted
kingfisher of North America, _Ceryle alcyon_, is a characteristic bird
of that country, though its habits greatly resemble those of the
European species; and the so-called "laughing jackass" of New South
Wales and South Australia, _Dacelo gigas_--with its kindred forms, _D.
leachi_, _D. cervina_ and _D. occidentalis_, from other parts of the
country--deserve special mention. Attention must also be called to the
speculations of Dr Bowdler Sharpe (op. cit., pp. xliv.-xlvii.) on the
genetic affinity of the various forms of _Alcedinidae_, and it is to be
regretted that hitherto no light has been shed by palaeontologists on
this interesting subject, for the only fossil referred to the
neighbourhood of the family is the _Halcyornis toliapicus_ of Sir R.
Owen (_Br. Foss. Mamm. and Birds_, p. 554) from the Eocene of
Sheppey--the very specimen said to have been previously placed by König
(_Icon. foss. secliles_, fig. 153) in the genus _Larus_. (A. N.)