According to an old Indian legend, the rust-colored breast feathers of the belted kingfisher came to be when Noah sent a female kingfisher to scout for land. However, she flew too high and scorched her breast, thus accounting for the colorful blaze of feathers across her chest beneath her blue back. Noah, exhibiting his wrath, punished her by making her catch her food from the water: thus the kingfisher is often seen sitting for hours on a branch, staring at the water below. We might note that only the female kingfisher has this distinctive marking.