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Halcyon Journey: In Search of the Belted Kingfisher
Winner of the John Burroughs Medal Award for Natural History Writing
More than one hundred species of kingfishers brighten every continent but Antarctica. Not all are fishing birds. They range in size from the African dwarf kingfisher to the laughing kookaburra of Australia. This first book to feature North America’s belted kingfisher is a lyrical story of observation, revelation, and curiosity in the presence of flowing waters.
The kingfisher—also known as the halcyon bird—is linked to the mythic origin of halcyon days, a state of happiness that Marina Richie hopes to find outside her back door in Missoula, Montana. Epiphanies and a citizen science discovery punctuate days tracking a bird that outwits at every turn. The female is more colorful than the male (unusual and puzzling) and the birds’ earthen nest holes are difficult to locate.
While the heart of the drama takes place on Rattlesnake Creek in Missoula, the author’s adventures in search of kingfisher kin on the lower Rio Grande, in South Africa, and in London illuminate her relationships with the birds of Montana. In the quiet of winter, she explores tribal stories of the kingfisher as messenger and helper, pivotal qualities for her quest. For all who love birds or simply seek solace in nature, Halcyon Journey is an inviting introduction to the mythic and mysterious belted kingfisher.
More than one hundred species of kingfishers brighten every continent but Antarctica. Not all are fishing birds. They range in size from the African dwarf kingfisher to the laughing kookaburra of Australia. This first book to feature North America’s belted kingfisher is a lyrical story of observation, revelation, and curiosity in the presence of flowing waters.
The kingfisher—also known as the halcyon bird—is linked to the mythic origin of halcyon days, a state of happiness that Marina Richie hopes to find outside her back door in Missoula, Montana. Epiphanies and a citizen science discovery punctuate days tracking a bird that outwits at every turn. The female is more colorful than the male (unusual and puzzling) and the birds’ earthen nest holes are difficult to locate.
While the heart of the drama takes place on Rattlesnake Creek in Missoula, the author’s adventures in search of kingfisher kin on the lower Rio Grande, in South Africa, and in London illuminate her relationships with the birds of Montana. In the quiet of winter, she explores tribal stories of the kingfisher as messenger and helper, pivotal qualities for her quest. For all who love birds or simply seek solace in nature, Halcyon Journey is an inviting introduction to the mythic and mysterious belted kingfisher.
264 pages, Paperback
Published May 27, 2022
11 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Marina Richie
5 books4 followersI am the author of Halcyon Journey, In Search of the Belted Kingfisher, winner of the 2024 John Burroughs Medal for distinguished natural history writing, a 2022 National Outdoor Book Award and a 2022 Foreword Indies Award. My two children’s books are Bird Feats and Bug Feats.
A nature writer and environmental activist living in Bend, Oregon, I write a bi-monthly blog, magazine articles, interpretive panels, blogs, media, reports, opinion pieces, essays, and poetry. I also give talks and teach nature writing workshops. My focus is on finding kinship with nature and protecting wildlands and waters.
My articles, essays, blogs, and poems have appeared in National Wildlife, Audubon, Birding, Birdwatching, A.T. Journeys, Post Road Magazine, Montana Naturalist, Think Journal, Vision and Research View (University of Montana), Center for Humans and Nature, Lothlorien, Panorama, Humans of the World, and Tiny Seed Literary Journal. Essays appear in two book collections: Field Notes from the Montana Natural History Center; Placed, An Encyclopedia of Central Oregon; and a poem in Central Oregon Writers Guild 2023 Literary Collection. '
I earned a master’s in Journalism from the University of Montana and an undergraduate in Biology from the University of Oregon. I serve on the Board of Directors for the Greater Hells Canyon Council.
Growing up in a National Park Service family with a bird-loving father influenced my passion for protecting wildlife and wild places. Through prose and poetry, I seek to bridge the divide separating people from nature. I gain inspiration and humility from observing the intricacy of wild animal lives.
I’m particularly drawn to kingfishers, free-flowing rivers, ancient forests, waterfalls, alpine wildflowers, rocky coasts, and roadless areas. A hiker, backpacker, and birder, I also tend a pollinator and bird-friendly yard. In 2024, I wrote a series called Every Wild Place Has a Story for Oregon Wild’s 50th anniversary and served as the Greater Hells Canyon Council’s 2023-2025 Artist-in-Residence with watercolor artist Robin Coen. I’m working on a new book I’m calling “Feathered Forest” under contract with Chelsea Green Publishing.
A nature writer and environmental activist living in Bend, Oregon, I write a bi-monthly blog, magazine articles, interpretive panels, blogs, media, reports, opinion pieces, essays, and poetry. I also give talks and teach nature writing workshops. My focus is on finding kinship with nature and protecting wildlands and waters.
My articles, essays, blogs, and poems have appeared in National Wildlife, Audubon, Birding, Birdwatching, A.T. Journeys, Post Road Magazine, Montana Naturalist, Think Journal, Vision and Research View (University of Montana), Center for Humans and Nature, Lothlorien, Panorama, Humans of the World, and Tiny Seed Literary Journal. Essays appear in two book collections: Field Notes from the Montana Natural History Center; Placed, An Encyclopedia of Central Oregon; and a poem in Central Oregon Writers Guild 2023 Literary Collection. '
I earned a master’s in Journalism from the University of Montana and an undergraduate in Biology from the University of Oregon. I serve on the Board of Directors for the Greater Hells Canyon Council.
Growing up in a National Park Service family with a bird-loving father influenced my passion for protecting wildlife and wild places. Through prose and poetry, I seek to bridge the divide separating people from nature. I gain inspiration and humility from observing the intricacy of wild animal lives.
I’m particularly drawn to kingfishers, free-flowing rivers, ancient forests, waterfalls, alpine wildflowers, rocky coasts, and roadless areas. A hiker, backpacker, and birder, I also tend a pollinator and bird-friendly yard. In 2024, I wrote a series called Every Wild Place Has a Story for Oregon Wild’s 50th anniversary and served as the Greater Hells Canyon Council’s 2023-2025 Artist-in-Residence with watercolor artist Robin Coen. I’m working on a new book I’m calling “Feathered Forest” under contract with Chelsea Green Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 16, 2022
A loving tribute to Belted Kingfishers and other kingfishers worldwide, this book will appeal to birders and other nature lovers. Here's a sample of the often-lyrical language, as the author describes a kingfisher hovering over the water before diving: "With eyes fixed on the prey below, the hover becomes a fermata—in music, the pause that is prelude to drama."
June 30, 2022
Reading Halcyon Journey has been a way for me to slow down and experience the world through the eyes of a naturalist. I may not have the patience or required stillness to quietly sit on the banks of a river, observing the elusive lives of the Kingfisher, but Marina does, and I can experience the wonder and delight of discovery through her poetic tome...a journey into understanding not only the life cycle of these colorful birds, but her own cycle through the natural world.
November 21, 2022
Imagine a robin-sized bird hovering in midair a dozen feet from a tall, sandy cutbank, and then flying full-tilt and striking the bank beak-first at 16 miles per hour. Colleagues of Halcyon Journey’s author Marina Richie recorded a mated pair of Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) performing just this task 176 times in 180 minutes to excavate a new nesting burrow. After each strike, the dazed birds perched on a branch to regain composure or bathed in the creek below. Richie and her colleagues were the first to document this technique in Belted Kingfishers, though three kingfisher species in other parts of the world use the same strategy to excavate nesting burrows, and 10 other species ram termite mounds to expose the insects inside.
Richie is a freelance science and natural history writer who became captivated by Belted Kingfishers when she noticed the birds flying along a stream while attending one of her son’s soccer matches. As a result, she decided to study a pair of the birds frequenting Rattlesnake Creek, a tributary of the Clark Fork River near her home in Missoula, Montana. In the end, she observed Rattlesnake Creek kingfishers for seven years from 2008 through 2015 and gathered together her observations for this book. Woven among the observations are a narrative of significant personal events in the author’s life, Greek and Native American kingfisher mythology and origin stories, and a wealth of ornithological, biogeographic, and phylogenetic information on the 120 kingfisher species worldwide.
“Halcyon” is both a noun and an adjective. The word has Greek roots in the words hals (sea) and kuo (conceive). According to Greek mythology, two lovers, Halcyon and Ceyx, were transformed into kingfishers that annually nested at sea for two weeks centered on the winter solstice. During the nesting period, the sea calmed to accommodate the nesting lovers. Hence, as a noun, “halcyon” refers to a kingfisher in general. However, as an adjective, “halcyon” connotes calm, peace, and prosperity, in reference to the period during which the roiling seas were stilled to allow the lovers to nest. In many ways, the title’s double meaning also applies to the author’s life during the period she observed the birds.
Ultimately, Halcyon Journey is as much a celebration of citizen science as it is a paean to the natural world. For as many early spring mornings that Richie shivered in the rain hidden behind a Douglas-fir or squatted motionless for hours in a portable hunter’s blind observing the skittish birds, she basked in afternoon sunshine amid a chorus of migratory songbirds returning to the Rattlesnake Creek riparian forest to breed. She developed professional relationships with ornithologists whose guidance and mentoring deepened her understanding and appreciation of these common but poorly known birds. At the same time, her commitment and determination led to experiences in the natural world she never would have had if she had not been so determined to see this project through. Richie aptly quotes research biologist and naturalist Bern Heinrich: “But the lure of seeing something new or unexpected is powerful, and this usually requires being at the wrong place at the right time or vice versa, mucking around in one’s much-loved places and situations.” (Heinrich, Bern. White Feathers: The Nesting Life of Tree Swallows. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020)
In addition to documenting that Belted Kingfishers at least occasionally excavate nesting burrows via aerial ramming, Richie also observed a heretofore unknown courtship ritual in which mated kingfishers each select a pebble and display the stones in their beaks to their partner. However, one of Richie’s principal goals in undertaking this project was her interest in the biological importance of the “belt” of magenta feathers across the female’s chest. In most sexually dimorphic bird species, the male tends to be showier and more colorful than the female. In Belted Kingfishers, though, only the female sports a belt. Because these birds nest in dark, underground burrows out of view of most predators, neither sex needs to be camouflaged to remain cryptic as do female songbirds that nest in exposed locations in shrubs and trees. Richie was convinced that the size, shape, or intensity of the female belt had evolutionary significance—and undoubtedly it does—but her exhaustive research, consultations with experts, and a trip to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC to examine kingfisher specimens failed to provide any definite conclusions or breakthroughs.
In an effort to keep the narrative lively and engaging, and to convey her overwhelming passion for the natural world, Richie consistently employs overly florid prose. She includes some questionable analogies and metaphors that stretch language to the breaking point. Some of her word choices are truly bizarre and left me scratching my head. It is not as if Richie is incapable of straightforward exposition; detailed descriptions of the birds’ flight and their visual systems, for example, are well-written, clear and forthright.
Halcyon Journey contains a great deal of well researched ornithological and natural history information presented in a format that will be accessible to a general audience. The text is appended with a comprehensive index and with suggestions for further readings and additional sources grouped according to chapter topics. In keeping with the book’s generalized tone, the supplementary recommendations are aimed at the educated layperson and are not scientific publications. The text is accompanied by one map of the Rattlesnake Creek valley and environs where Richie focused her observations, and by 16 black-and-white illustrations by Ram Papish depicting the birds and some of their behaviors. In the end, though, Richie’s effusive and idiosyncratic writing style detracts from what otherwise would be an exemplary account of steadfast dedication to scientific pursuit.
Richie is a freelance science and natural history writer who became captivated by Belted Kingfishers when she noticed the birds flying along a stream while attending one of her son’s soccer matches. As a result, she decided to study a pair of the birds frequenting Rattlesnake Creek, a tributary of the Clark Fork River near her home in Missoula, Montana. In the end, she observed Rattlesnake Creek kingfishers for seven years from 2008 through 2015 and gathered together her observations for this book. Woven among the observations are a narrative of significant personal events in the author’s life, Greek and Native American kingfisher mythology and origin stories, and a wealth of ornithological, biogeographic, and phylogenetic information on the 120 kingfisher species worldwide.
“Halcyon” is both a noun and an adjective. The word has Greek roots in the words hals (sea) and kuo (conceive). According to Greek mythology, two lovers, Halcyon and Ceyx, were transformed into kingfishers that annually nested at sea for two weeks centered on the winter solstice. During the nesting period, the sea calmed to accommodate the nesting lovers. Hence, as a noun, “halcyon” refers to a kingfisher in general. However, as an adjective, “halcyon” connotes calm, peace, and prosperity, in reference to the period during which the roiling seas were stilled to allow the lovers to nest. In many ways, the title’s double meaning also applies to the author’s life during the period she observed the birds.
Ultimately, Halcyon Journey is as much a celebration of citizen science as it is a paean to the natural world. For as many early spring mornings that Richie shivered in the rain hidden behind a Douglas-fir or squatted motionless for hours in a portable hunter’s blind observing the skittish birds, she basked in afternoon sunshine amid a chorus of migratory songbirds returning to the Rattlesnake Creek riparian forest to breed. She developed professional relationships with ornithologists whose guidance and mentoring deepened her understanding and appreciation of these common but poorly known birds. At the same time, her commitment and determination led to experiences in the natural world she never would have had if she had not been so determined to see this project through. Richie aptly quotes research biologist and naturalist Bern Heinrich: “But the lure of seeing something new or unexpected is powerful, and this usually requires being at the wrong place at the right time or vice versa, mucking around in one’s much-loved places and situations.” (Heinrich, Bern. White Feathers: The Nesting Life of Tree Swallows. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020)
In addition to documenting that Belted Kingfishers at least occasionally excavate nesting burrows via aerial ramming, Richie also observed a heretofore unknown courtship ritual in which mated kingfishers each select a pebble and display the stones in their beaks to their partner. However, one of Richie’s principal goals in undertaking this project was her interest in the biological importance of the “belt” of magenta feathers across the female’s chest. In most sexually dimorphic bird species, the male tends to be showier and more colorful than the female. In Belted Kingfishers, though, only the female sports a belt. Because these birds nest in dark, underground burrows out of view of most predators, neither sex needs to be camouflaged to remain cryptic as do female songbirds that nest in exposed locations in shrubs and trees. Richie was convinced that the size, shape, or intensity of the female belt had evolutionary significance—and undoubtedly it does—but her exhaustive research, consultations with experts, and a trip to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC to examine kingfisher specimens failed to provide any definite conclusions or breakthroughs.
In an effort to keep the narrative lively and engaging, and to convey her overwhelming passion for the natural world, Richie consistently employs overly florid prose. She includes some questionable analogies and metaphors that stretch language to the breaking point. Some of her word choices are truly bizarre and left me scratching my head. It is not as if Richie is incapable of straightforward exposition; detailed descriptions of the birds’ flight and their visual systems, for example, are well-written, clear and forthright.
Halcyon Journey contains a great deal of well researched ornithological and natural history information presented in a format that will be accessible to a general audience. The text is appended with a comprehensive index and with suggestions for further readings and additional sources grouped according to chapter topics. In keeping with the book’s generalized tone, the supplementary recommendations are aimed at the educated layperson and are not scientific publications. The text is accompanied by one map of the Rattlesnake Creek valley and environs where Richie focused her observations, and by 16 black-and-white illustrations by Ram Papish depicting the birds and some of their behaviors. In the end, though, Richie’s effusive and idiosyncratic writing style detracts from what otherwise would be an exemplary account of steadfast dedication to scientific pursuit.
June 17, 2022
Fun book! I recommend it for everyone. I have watched Belted Kingfishers for years and I learned so much from Marina's observations and well researched prose! Please read this book, you won't be disappointed.
April 25, 2025
I loved this book! Marina Richie has written a moving and personal story, not only about herself and about the kingfisher — but about all of us! A beautifully written story, carefully researched (so impressive her ability to locate and use the historical literature existing on this bird) along with her careful and patient observations in the field. The use of indigenous voices was poignant, such as this quote from a Salish elder: “The animals have no voices, so they depend on us.”
While the book is ostensibly about kingfishers, for me the book’s power really turned on its ability to focus a lens on humans. “If we live within nature’s embrace, will we return to spinning the ancient stories of animal transformation? We will not hold ourselves apart any longer…. Myths of becoming animal can take our feet back to the forest, the riverbank, to a sense of belonging.” Such a timely and important message in these times, a beautiful reminder that we are but one species among many. Thank you, Marina! —Jessica Mann, author of UPLIFT, an IBPA Book Awards Gold/Silver finalist 2024 and Indies Today awards runner-up
While the book is ostensibly about kingfishers, for me the book’s power really turned on its ability to focus a lens on humans. “If we live within nature’s embrace, will we return to spinning the ancient stories of animal transformation? We will not hold ourselves apart any longer…. Myths of becoming animal can take our feet back to the forest, the riverbank, to a sense of belonging.” Such a timely and important message in these times, a beautiful reminder that we are but one species among many. Thank you, Marina! —Jessica Mann, author of UPLIFT, an IBPA Book Awards Gold/Silver finalist 2024 and Indies Today awards runner-up
August 11, 2022
Halcyon Journey fulfilled my yearning for knowledge about new subjects as I knew very little of the world of birds. In addition to learning about the belted kingfisher, my awareness and appreciation of other birds and wildlife increased.
Marina Richie's poetic prose delighted my ear for beautiful language, and I jotted down phrases that called to me and vocabulary she used in ways I had not considered. I read particularly striking passage aloud to family and friends.
Although Halcyon Journey explains aspects of science and holds science in esteem, it is not your run-of-the-mill "bird book." It is a weaving of field notes and observations, history (natural and mythical), the author's own origins as a naturalist and genuine caring for the natural world, and her modern story of prevailing in the face of obstacles, both personal and professional.
I thoroughly enjoyed Halcyon Journey and have given copies to some of my birding friends.
Marina Richie's poetic prose delighted my ear for beautiful language, and I jotted down phrases that called to me and vocabulary she used in ways I had not considered. I read particularly striking passage aloud to family and friends.
Although Halcyon Journey explains aspects of science and holds science in esteem, it is not your run-of-the-mill "bird book." It is a weaving of field notes and observations, history (natural and mythical), the author's own origins as a naturalist and genuine caring for the natural world, and her modern story of prevailing in the face of obstacles, both personal and professional.
I thoroughly enjoyed Halcyon Journey and have given copies to some of my birding friends.
April 22, 2024
I loved this book. I love the poetic way that this author writes about nature. In college, I had a semester of reading natural history books and observing birds, trees, plants, etc. and this book made me remember how much I loved it. I have been going to a natural area by my house very regularly for about 4 years now and I see belted kingfishers often and love them. This book also taught me more about them and gave me things to watch for. This is by far one of the best books of this type I’ve ever read.
February 13, 2025
I prefer to read fiction so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Richie weaves a tapestry of science, nature, adventure and day-to-day life that kept me turning the pages to the very end. Its no surprise that Halcyon Journey has won so many awards. I recommend it to all my friends and I can't wait to read more by Richie.
October 19, 2022
Beautiful and thoughtful, with an intense study of local kingfishers intertwined with processing of love, death, grief, and change. The descriptions were very poetic, although at times it felt overly embellished. Probably I read it too fast, it needs to be digested slowly.
October 25, 2023
I read this book for my bird club book club and enjoyed it very much. Richie is a good writer with a poetic bent. The book added to my knowledge of this lovely bird, and I enjoyed reading about Richie's travels in search of it.
August 30, 2024
This is a gorgeous memoir/natural history - and it won the prestigious Burroughs Award for good reason! If you love birds, or want to know more, this book is for you! I have had my love of kingfishers deepened, which is a true joy.
July 1, 2025
Engrossing account of a citizen scientist organizing curiosity about kingfisher—a captivating creature. Habitat, anatomy, legend, personal journey, all in a not-at-all bloated book. Typically bland analysis about climate disruption; nevertheless a delight.
February 17, 2024
A tribute to the Belted Kingfisher and the joys of spending time on a secluded river watching and learning. We find in this book the struggles of a citizen scientist to manage the many channels of life that repeatedly merge and separate to bring joys and challenges. We learn how the kingfisher struggles to make a home and survive the challenges of a river, and Richie shares with us some of her struggles as well. Her base of joy comes through poetically with her rich writing as we learn about how she as a citizen scientist goes with questions into the natural world and comes away with wonder, knowledge, and new insights.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews