EASTERN BELTED KINGFISHER 115 



are pure white in color. The measurements of 54 eggs average 33.9 

 by 26.7 millimeters, the eggs showing the four extremes measure 

 36.8 by 27.9, 30.8 by 26.4, and 33 by 25.4 millimeters. 



Young. — The incubation period is said to be about 23 or 24 days. 

 Bendire (1895) says: 



The male does not assist in incubation, but supplies bis mate with food 

 while so engaged, and she rarely leaves the nest after the first egg has been 

 laid ; at any rate I have invariably found the bird at home if there were 

 any eggs in the nest. Incubation lasts about sixteen days. The young when 

 first hatched are blind, perfectly naked, helpless, and, in a word, very unpre- 

 possessing. They scarcely look like birds while crawling about in the nest, 

 where they remain several weeks, their growth being very slow. The excre- 

 ment of the young is promptly removed and the burrow is kept rather clean. 

 They utter a low, puffing sound when disturbed, and frequently vary consider- 

 ably in size, as if incubation, in some instances at least, began with the first 

 egg laid. The young, even after they have left the nest for some time, re- 

 quire the attendance of their parents before they are able to secure sub- 

 sistence for themselves. 



I believe that Bendire's statement above, that the male does not 

 incubate, is incorrect; perhaps he may not do so regularly, or to the 

 same extent that the female does, but several observers have reported 

 finding the male on the eggs, or at least in the nest. The young 

 remain in the nest for about 4 weeks or more, and do not leave 

 it until they are able to fly. 



William L. Bailey (1900) made an interesting study of a family 

 of young kingfishers, by digging a hole in the rear of the nesting 

 cavity on four different occasions, taking photographs of. the young 

 at four different ages, and filling up the hole each time, so as not 

 to disturb the birds too much. He says that when the young were 

 about two days old they "were not only found wrapped together 

 in the nest, but the moment they were put on the ground, one at 

 a time, though their eyes were still sealed, they immediately cover- 

 ered one another with their wings and wide bills, making such a 

 tight ball that when one shifted a leg, the whole mass would move 

 like a single bird. This is a most sensible method of keeping warm, 

 since the mother bird's legs are so short that she could not stand 

 over them, but as they are protected from the wind and weather 

 they have no need of her. Their appearance is comical in the ex- 

 treme, and all out of proportion. This clinging to one another is 

 apparently kept up for at least ten days, for a week later, when 

 nine days old, they were found in exactly a similar position." 



On his last visit, when the young birds were 23 days old, he made 

 an interesting discovery, of which he says: "Taking the precaution 

 to stop the hole with a good-sized stone, I proceeded to my digging 

 for the last time on the top of the bank. This time I found the 

 chamber had been moved, and I had some difficulty in locating it 



