64 STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 



the sun, and his ruby breast reflected in the water below. His long bill 

 was pointed downwards, and his eye intent on watching the tiny fish that 

 sported beneath. 



Presently a fish came into the right position, and he opened his wings a 

 little way, and darted downwards with the rapidity of lightning, and, as it 

 seemed, headlong into the water. There was a splash, and in another second 

 he appeared with a fish in his mouth, struggling and twisting itself about. 



He struck it against the bough and killed it, then, tossing up his head, 

 swallowed it, and was again on the watch as intently as ever. 



The poor kingfisher suffers very much in cold weather, but even in the 

 depth of the winter he is novv^ and then seen plying his trade on the river. 

 One sharp frost the river was frozen except just in the middle, and here a 

 kingfisher was seen hovering over the open spot, as if looking for fish. 

 Presently he dived and brought one up in his bill. 



A gentleman who was passing fired his gun, but, Ave arc happy to say, 

 without effect. The bird darted away with the swiftness of an arrow, and 

 was gone. 



THE HOOPOE. 



There is a family of birds called bee-eaters, that feed upon bees as the 

 swallow does upon flies. They do not live in England, but pay summer visits 

 to the warm countries in the south of Europe. They wear a rich costume of 

 yellow and orange, and have a long beak a little like the kingfisher's, and a 

 body about the size of a swallow. 



And they lead the life of the swallow, darting about in flocks on the 

 mountain sides, where bees hum over the flowers of the thyme, and they catch 

 them by hundreds. They have a curious note, that can be heard a long way 

 off, and might be mistaken for a man whistling. 



The hoopoe, with its beautiful crest, is a distant relation of the bee- 

 eater. He can raise his crest or put it down, just as he pleases ; and he wears 

 a suit of the gayest colours. 



He has three toes in front and one behind, and the one behind is long 

 and has a strai^jht claw. 



