Belted Kingfisher

“Ceryle alcyon. Belted Kingfisher. Upper parts, broad pectoral bar, and sides under the wings, dull blue with fine black shaft lines. Lower eyelid, spot before eye, a cervical collar and under parts except as said, pure white; the female with chestnut belly-band and the sides of the same color. Quills and tail-feathers black, speckled, blotched or barred on the inner webs with white; outer webs of the secondaries and tail feathers like the back; wing-coverts frequently sprinkled with white. Bill black, pale at base below. Feet dark; tibiae naked below. A long, thin, pointed occipital crest; plumage compact and oily to resist water, into which the birds constantly plunge after their finny prey.” Elliot Coues, 1884

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