84 BIRDS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



the bill 1^. The female is less vivid in all her colours. In 

 the young the whole bill is black. 



It is a resident species, and is always found in the 

 vicinity of water, where at one time it was fairly common, 

 but owing to the persecution to which it has been subjected 

 by the cockney sportsman, the taxidermist, the angler and 

 his minions, and by Tom, Dick, and Harry, it has become 

 so scarce that its occurrence in a locality is deemed of 

 sufficient interest to be chronicled b}'^ the press. There is 

 no doubt that in a few years it will, as a British species, be 

 extinct. 



To the above enemies may be added another — the hunter 

 after prizes for "rare specimens " at shows, who traps two 

 or three kingfishers, cages them, and sends them off to a 

 big show, where they are judged and " put in the money," to 

 die, as a rule, before the exhibition is over, and always in 

 a few days afterwards ; but what does the prizemonger 

 care ? he has gained the object he had in view — a few 

 paltry shillings — and he is quite ready to begin again for 

 the next, and send off one day the poor bird he had cap- 

 tured, perhaps from her nest, on the day before. 



The kingfisher feeds almost entirely on small fish, to 

 catch which it plunges boldly into the stream, rarely miss- 

 ing its aim. It is thought to destroy much trout and 

 salmon fry, and no doubt it does take some ; but it preys 

 on other kinds as well, and, fish being scarce, is said not to 

 disdain tadpoles, small frogs and newts, or even water 

 beetles and dragon-flies. 



It is a shy bird, and a patient, persistent hunter, remain- 

 ing fixed, sometimes for hours, on a branch, from which it 

 darts into the stream at sight of the first passing fish of 

 convenient size, returning, to kill and swallow its prey, to 

 the spot from which it had started. The nest is placed at 

 the end of a tunnel, a yard or two in depth, bored by the 



