ii6 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



The king-fisher has been, for many 

 years, unfairly branded as a fish thief 

 and, as such, he is shot, upon every oc- 

 casion that ofifers by members of the an- 

 gling fraternity. They never stop to con- 

 sider that the bird, who catches the fish 

 for food only, has really a much greater 

 right to them than he who catches them 

 merely for the pleasure which the sport 

 afifords him. In consequence of this he 



distinguish, much less describe, but of 

 which we are nevertheless aware, and 

 which must carry its meaning to the lis- 

 tening ears of others of his species. 



Elis favorite perch is a dead branch 

 overhanging, or a pole or stump protrud- 

 ing from, the water. Upon such a perch 

 he will sit by the hour patiently waiting 

 and watching for some unwary fish to 

 swim sufficiently near to give him his 



YOUNG KINGFISHERS. 



has been persecuted to such an extent by 

 man that he has learned, by bitter ex- 

 perience, to distrust and fear him and has 

 finally become so wary that it is no longer 

 easy for a human being to approach even 

 within gunshot of one. 



His peculiar sharp cry is the only note 

 to which he, seemingly, can give utter- 

 ance. He uses it upon every occasion 

 that ofifers and as a voluble expression to 

 every feeling of which he is capable. 

 Moreover this cry is usually uttered v/hile 

 the bird is on the wing, generally either 

 immediately after leaving a perch or 

 just before reaching one; while winging 

 his way from fishing ground to nesting 

 site, or upon leaving the water after 

 having made a catch. It is his signal to 

 his brooding mate when approaching the 

 nest with food ; his cry of alarm to warn 

 her of some threatening danger ; his love 

 song when wooing her ; and his challeng- 

 ing war cry to an intruder upon what he 

 is pleased to consider as his especial do- 

 main. While, to all intents and purposes, 

 this cry is, in every case, absolutely iden- 

 tical, still for each diflferent occasion it 

 has a dififerent intonation that alters it 

 in an intangible wav that one can hardlv 



chance to make a catch. Each bird or 

 pair of birds seems to have three or four 

 favorite perching spots within the limits 

 of their exclusive territory and they 

 divide their time pretty ec|ually between 

 them, rarely returning immediately to the 

 same perch after having caught a fish. 

 While occupied in waiting for his oppor- 

 tunity the bird remains almost absolutely 

 immovable and, on account of this, de- 

 spite the fact that his plumage is rather 

 brilliant in coloring, it is extremely dif- 

 ficult to detect him against his back- 

 ground of dark green foliage. Unfor- 

 tunate indeed is the fish that passes close 

 enough beneath him to afiford him the 

 opportunity for which he has been wait- 

 ing, for it is almost certain that this par- 

 ticular member of the finny tribe will 

 shortly leave his native element never to 

 return to it. There is an instantaneous 

 flash of wings on the part of the waiting 

 bird, an almost simultaneous splash, and 

 he has disappeared completely beneath 

 the surface of the water. The next in- 

 stant, however, he is again oni the wing 

 and, giving voice to his rattling cry, he 

 is darting along the bank to his nest or 

 to one of his favorite perches where he 



