KINGFISHERS

( Alcedinide); a family of Picarian birds with 200 species scattered all over the world. The WaterK. have long, slender bills, frequent streams, and feed on fish; while the WoodK. or King Hunters, have stouter, rounded or compre ed. bills, inhabit woodlands, and subsist mainly on locusts, crabs, and even reptiles, although a fish meal is not disdained, The Common K. (Alcedo ispida), the only Brit, native, belongs to the former group.