362 



THE BELTED KINGFISHER. 



lie clatters in high glee. If, as rarely happens, the bird misses the stroke, the 



sputtering notes which follow speak plainly of disgust, and we are glad for the 



moment that Kingfisher talk is not exactly translatable. 



It is not quite clear whether the bird usually seizes or spears its prey, 



altho it is certain that it sometimes does the latter. The story is told of a 



Kingfisher 

 which, spy- 

 ing so m e 

 minnows in a 

 wooden tub 

 nearly filled 

 with water, 

 struck so eag- 

 erly that its 

 bill penetrat- 

 ed the bottom 

 of the tub, 

 and so thor- 

 oughly that 

 the bird was 

 unable to ex- 

 tricate itself; 

 and so died — 

 a death al- 

 most as igno- 

 m i n i o u s as 

 that of the 

 king who 

 was drowned 

 in a butt of 

 Malmsey 

 wine. 



\Y hen a 

 fish is taken 

 the bird first 

 thrashes it 

 against its 

 perch t o 

 make sure it 

 is dead, and 

 then swal- 



■OVERLOOKING A QUIET POOL." IoWS !t lleaC ' 



