Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 



141 



against the twig it sat on. Every bone in tlie fish's body 

 must have been sniaslied by tlie repeated blows. The 

 nioA'enients of tliis bird, as of otliers I liave watehed, were 

 \'ery jerky, and its attitude the re\'erse of gracefid. 



A regular perch in another stream was a tree-stump lying 

 across the water, with se\'eral projecting arms. In the 

 middle was a A^"ater-llen's extra nest. This made an excellent 

 station for a pair of Kingfishers — or perhaps I should say 

 two Kingfisliers, young birds of the year, fidly fledged and 

 quite capable of looking after themselves. Repeatedly, during 

 a day spent in ambush squatting in a small elder-bush, 

 concealed by twigs and nettles, these two birds returned to 

 the place, sometimes sitting on the stump, sometimes on 

 the outer sticks of the A^^ater-hen's nest. Sometimes one only 



could be seen, 

 but generally 

 both of them 

 were in view 

 at the same 

 time. ]Many 

 plunges were 

 made after 

 sticklebacks 

 \\^ h i 1 e we 

 watched, and 

 never once did 

 they miss their 



Bones and Skulls froji "Castings" of Barn-owl. 



(The five shrews' skulls were from one " casting.") prCy. 



