Some old men say that the Kingfisher was meant in the beginning to be a water bird, but as he had not been given either web feet or a good bill, so he could not make a living. The animals held a council over it and decided to make him a bill like a long […]
Category: Coraciiformes
Folklore from Liberia, Hornbills and the war with hunters
In Liberia there is a great famine, and Nymo and Hornbill have become very hungry. They are “big friends,” so they decide to go into the interior together to look for food. They find a palm-tree full of ripe nuts. shells Nymo eats only Nymo the pulp of his nuts, and throws calls the away […]
Bird stories, Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Alcyone, daughter of Eolus, the wind-god, impelled by love for her husband Ceyx, whom she found dead on the shore after a shipwreck, threw herself into the sea. The gods, rewarding their conjugal love, changed the pair into kingfishers. What connection exists between this, which is simply a classic yarn, and the ancient theory of […]
Bird stories, Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
In a Levant legend it is related that Solomon was once journeying across the desert, and was fainting with heat, when a large flock of hoopoes came to his assistance and by flying between the sun and the monarch formed an impenetrable cloud with their wings and bodies. Grateful for their ready help, Solomon asked […]
Bird stories, Blue-black Grassquit and Blue-crowned Motmot
The Ch‘ol Maya believe the pich, identified by informants as variously the Melodious Blackbird (Dives dives) or Blue-black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina), are said to sing to signal to a traveler that someone is ahead on the road. Hull, K. & Fergus, R. AN ETHNOORNITHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO HUMAN-BIRD RELATIONS AMONG THE MOPAN MAYA OF BELIZE. 2009. […]
Bird stories, Black-casqued Hornbill (Ceratogymna atrata)
During the Tembo initiatory rites in the forest, its head is used as a mask. It is also used in the dance called Britnga among the Betende clan during the initiation ceremonies. It is thought that it flies singing Fuo, fuo, fuoo (Who lives there?). Its head is used in the treatment of headaches. One […]
Bird stories, Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
In Pawnee legends, the Kingfisher figures with the wolf. There was a wolf who was lodge brother to Manabozho. One day he went forth and returned no more, and Manabozho mourned, for he loved him. So he followed his tracks to the Big River; and he asked a kingfisher if he had seen a wolf […]
Distribution of the Roller Coracias garrulus in Portugal, an historical approach
Roller (Coracias garrulus) Science Article 1 abstract The Iberian Peninsula harbours the majorityof the Roller (Coracias garrulus) populationin Western Europe. In Spain, available datasuggest a population fragmentation and a generalnegative trend (Marti & Del Moral, 2004).Although residual in an Iberian context, thePortuguese population also appears to be declining,and once considered Rare in PortugueseRed List (SNPRNC, […]
Nesting of the Ringed Kingfisher in the United States
Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata) Science Article 1 abstract According to the A.O.U. Check-list (fifth Ed., Baltimore, Amer. Ornithol. Union, 1957) the widespread neotropical Ringed Kingfisher (MegaceryIe torquata) is known from the United States only as ‘accidental on the lower Rio Grande in Texas (Laredo, June 2, 1888).’ More recent publications (Wolfe, Check-list of the birds […]
Recording of Hoopoes Upupa epops by means of audio playback in the conditions of Latvia: a preliminary evaluation
Hoopoe (Upupa epops) Science Article 1 abstract Playback is often used to improve recording of birds and therefore to gain more precise data on their numbers and distribution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential suitability of this method for survey of Hoopoes Upupa epops in Latvia. Playback was carried out in […]