Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 139 



Yoiiuo- AVoodpec'kcrs, l)ef'ore leaving tlie nest for good, 

 run in und out of their hole and climb the trunk as nimbly 

 as the old birds. 



In spite of tlie persecution it imdergoes, in consequence 

 of its brilliant plumage, the Kingfisher still holds its own, 

 and is, I firmly believe, as common as it was thirty years 

 ago. Hundreds are shot, in spite of tlie Hird Protection 

 Acts, and more still are netted in the autumn, wlien there 

 seems to be a decided migratory movement among tliem. 

 Kingfisliers then are frequently met with in places where 

 at other seasons you never expect to see them. Bird-catchers 

 catch tliem wlien netting the ditches and small streams for 

 Blackbirds and Thrushes ; I have had four brought to me 

 alive in the course of one week. Some I have bought, and 

 after keeping them a few days have released them at the 

 bottom of my garden, along wliich passes the Xew River. 

 One of tliese birds took Sticklebacks out of a soup-plate 

 after the first day, but they never live long in captivity. 



Tliey nest here regularly in certain places. In the bank of 

 some small brook the Kingfisher makes a hole, or finds a rat-hole 

 ready made, at tlic end of which it enlarges a small cavity. 

 Here the minute bones of tlie small fish on which she feeds 

 are disgorged, and on these she lays her shining white eggs, 

 almost globular in form. I have occasionally seen the bird 

 hover like a little Kestrel and plunge into the water after 

 its food ; but its usual tactics are to sit motionless on some 

 overhanging spray or protruding stump, on the watch for 

 any small fish or aquatic insect. On these it drops suddenly, 



