Kingfishers are generally shy birds, but in spite of this they feature heavily in human culture, generally due to their bright plumage or in some species interesting behaviour. The sacred Kingfisher, along with other Pacific kingfishers, was venerated by the Polynesians, who believed it had control over the seas and waves. For the Dusun people of Borneo, the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher is considered a bad omen, and warriors that see one on the way to battle should return home. Another Bornean tribe consider the Banded Kingfisher an omen bird, albeit generally a good omen. Halcyon, which gives its name to the family Halcyonidae, is a mythical bird similar to the kingfisher.
"Ovid and Hyginus both also make the metamorphosis the origin of the etymology for "halcyon days", the seven days in winter when storms never occur. They state that these were originally the seven days each year (either side of the shortest day of the year) during which Alcyone ([as a kingfisher]) laid her eggs and made her nest on the beach and during which her father Aeolus, god of the winds, restrained the winds and calmed the waves so she could do so in safety. The phrase has since become a term used to describe a peaceful time generally."
The etymology of kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is obscure; the term comes from king's fisher, but why that name was applied is not known[6].
