Lexic.us

Definition of Kingfisher

1. Noun. Nonpasserine large-headed bird with a short tail and long sharp bill; usually crested and bright-colored; feed mostly on fish.

Definition of Kingfisher

1. n. Any one of numerous species of birds constituting the family Alcedinidæ. Most of them feed upon fishes which they capture by diving and seizing them with the beak; others feed only upon reptiles, insects, etc. About one hundred and fifty species are known. They are found in nearly all parts of the world, but are particularly abundant in the East Indies.

Definition of Kingfisher

1. Noun. Any of various birds of the suborder ''Alcedines'', having a large head, short tail and brilliant colouration; they feed mostly on fish. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Kingfisher

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Kingfisher

1. Any one of numerous species of birds constituting the family Alcedinidae. most of them feed upon fishes which they capture by diving and seizing then with the beak; others feed only upon reptiles, insects, etc. About one hundred and fifty species are known. They are found in nearly all parts of the world, but are particularly abundant in the East Indies. The belted king-fisher of the United States (Ceryle alcyon) feeds upon fishes. It is slate-blue above, with a white belly and breast, and a broad white ring around the neck. A dark band crosses the breast. The common European species (Alcedo ispida), which is much smaller and brighter coloured, is also a fisher. See Alcedo. The wood kingfishers (Halcyones), which inhabit forests, especially in Africa, feed largely upon insects, but also eat reptiles, snails, and small Crustacea, as well as fishes. The giant kingfisher of Australia feeds largely upon lizards and insects. See Laughing jackass, under Laughing. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Kingfisher

Literary usage of Kingfisher

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge by Charles Anderson Dana (1874)
"kingfisher, an extensive family of birds, with a lengthened, generally straight bill, broad at the base with acute tip, rounded wings, short tail, ..."

2. Handbook of Nature-study for Teachers and Parents: Based on the Cornell by Anna Botsford Comstock (1911)
"The kingfisher is very different in form from an ordinary bird; ... The kingfisher has no need for running and hopping, like the robin and, therefore, ..."

3. Robert Merry's Museum by Samuel G Goodrich (1842)
"ONCE upon a time, a .meeting took place between a kingfisher and a mocking-bird. ... The kingfisher, perceiving the admiration of the mocking-bird, ..."

4. The Nursery by John L. Shorey (Firm (1877)
"THE kingfisher. WHERE the white lilies quiver By the sedge in the river, I fly in and out, I hunt all about; For I am the daring kingfisher, kingfisher! ..."

5. Report of the Annual Meeting (1900)
"G. Note on the ' kingfisher' Eriss. By Professor HENRY Louis, MA The writer discovered in a pawnshop in Bangkok an earlier form of this type (possibly ..."

6. A history of British birds by Francis Orpen Morris (1851)
"BELTED kingfisher. GREAT BELTED kingfisher. ... as being an American bird, must not be altogether left unnoticed in treating of the kingfisher, ..."

7. The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge by George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana (1883)
"kingfisher, an extensive family of birds, with a lengthened, generally straight bill, broad at the base with acute tip, rounded wings, short tail, ..."

8. The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with Its Organization by Georges Cuvier, Edward Griffith, Charles Hamilton Smith, Edward Pidgeon, John Edward Gray, George Robert Gray (1829)
"Leach's kingfisher, from New Holland, is from a specimen in the Museum of the Linnean Society. It is whitish spotted, and streaked with dusky; rump, ..."

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