A kingfisher. By modern ornithologists restricted to a genus including a limited number of species having omnivorous habits, as the sacred kingfisher (Halcyon sancta) of Australia.
Pertaining to, or resembling, the halcyon, which was anciently said to lay her eggs in nests on or near the sea during the calm weather about the winter solstice.
Hence: Calm; quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy.
The mythical bird, the halcyon, is identified with the kingfisher. Ceyx and Alcyone were lovers. Ceyx, the king of Trachis, was drowned at sea. Hera sent word to Alcyone in her sleep through Morpheus, the god of dreams, that her husband was dead. Alcyone in her grief was transformed into the kingfisher; as she tried to drag the lifeless body of Ceyx to shore, he too was changed into a bird. The lovers still traverse the waves, and in winter she broods her young in a nest which floats upon the surface of the water. During this time, Alcyone's father, Aeolus, king of the winds, keeps them from disturbing the serene and tranquil sea. Today, the halcyon days are a period of calm weather during the winter solstice, especially the seven days preceding and following it. Halcyon days can also describe any time of tranquillity.
(Greek mythology) a woman who was turned into a kingfisher
a large kingfisher widely distributed in warmer parts of the Old World
a mythical bird said to breed at the time of the winter solstice in a nest floating on the sea and to have the power of calming the winds and waves
idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy tranquillity; "a halcyon atmosphere"
marked by peace and prosperity; "a golden era"; "the halcyon days of the clipper trade"
Calm and peaceful; tranquil. Detailed description
Halcyon is a genus of the tree kingfishers, near passerine birds in the family Halcyonidae.
Halcyon is a short dialogue attributed to Plato, in which Socrates relates the ancient myth of the Halcyon (a woman transformed into a bird forever searching the seas in lament) to Chaerephon.