Bird Notes and their Value 



then, suddenly rising — their crest-feathers 

 standing up stiff and straight and their 

 long heads and necks and beaks stretched 

 forward as far as possible as if in alarm — 

 they mount above the tree-tops and make 

 a wide detour out over the meadows, 

 coming back to the stream again at a point 

 at some safe distance away. 



The Kingfisher^s colors are steel-blue 

 and white. He is short of body and wide 

 of wing — averaging about twelve inches 

 one way and twenty-four the other; and 

 the mark from which he takes the fore- 

 part of his title is a narrow band of dark 

 gray across the upper portion of his broad 

 white breast. 



When ready for nesting he digs a round 

 hole four inches or so in diameter in the 

 side of some clayey bank and about a 

 yard below the surface, excavating to the 

 depth of about six or seven feet, and 

 enlarging it to quite a commodious cavity 

 at the end — in which he fixes up for him- 

 self a very comfortable retreat of dried 

 grasses and feathers. 



[53] 



