Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfishers have been on my bucket list for a long time.  They are such fast birds, racing up and down the river banks, that I had never gotten one on film.  I've had three confirmed sightings that I can recall, but they've but they all darted away before I could even raise my camera.

But now I have finally photographed one.  All I have to share with you is this photo:

Kingfishers view their pray from perches above the water

That is a kingfisher.  You can tell from the silhouette.  It has an over-large head with a crest, long pointed beak, and a kind of protruding, barrel chest.  It has a wide band of white around its neck - hence the term "belted".  It alighted on this channel buoy down from Lock & Dam 14, and was off again in a flash.

Interesting facts:

• They burrow in the ground
• They regurgitate pellets, similar to owls
• Females are more brightly-colored than males

Their scientific name is Megaceryle alcyon.  Remind you of any words you already know?  Mega, of course, means huge. Here's the rest of the story.

"Ceryle" comes from Ceyx, a minor god in Greek mythology,  He was married to Alcyon, who lends her name to this bird species as well.  They angered Zeus by calling each other by the pet names of Zeus and Hera.  Zeus blasted Ceyx's boat at sea.  When Alcyon heard of her husband's death, she cast herself into the ocean.  Other gods took pity on them and turned them into the mythological halcyon birds, who built floating nests on the sea during the two weeks period of calm at the winter solstices.

When you break halcyon down further, "hal" is related to the sea and salt, as in halite (rock salt), while "kyon" is related to the idea of conception.