A NATURALIST IN CEYLON WOOD 539 



hours at a time. Unlike most other kingfishers he has no blue in 

 his plumage but is a charming, spotted and barred mixture of black 

 and white. This species avoids injand forest streams and prefers 

 the lagoons and tanks near the coast. His diet is entire piscine, 

 but he hunts his prey in a fashion quite unlike other members of 

 his order. He does not dart into the water from the branch of 

 a tree, stump, or telegraph pole like most kingfishers; he hover? 

 in the air over the water as a kestrel poises over a meadow searching 

 for field mice. In this suspended and hovering position above the 

 lake he seems as fixed as if he were really resting on a stiff and 

 dead branch of a tree. One sees him in this aerial perch turning 

 his head from side to side, up and down, watching the waters 

 beneath him. Alji at once his wings cease fluttering, he closes them 

 tight about his body, and plunges straight as an arrow on his 

 finny prey, which he rarely fails to grasp and carry ashore. 



These are a few of the many wonderful sights that the Sinhalese 

 forest offers to those that wander into her solitudes. 



