102 BOMBAY DUCKS 



temperature falls to i6° F. in the night time is no larger 

 than the Madras bird. Mr. Blanford says that this 

 kingfisher is not found in the Himalayas. This is 

 certainly not the case. I have seen dozens of specimens 

 of the birds in those mountains at altitudes of 5000 feet 

 and even higher. The common kingfisher has the 

 typical build of the tribe : its neck and tail are short, its 

 bill is long, and its figure distinctly dumpy. The breast 

 is ferruginous, and the wings and back light blue, the 

 blue of the former having a greenish tinge. The feet 

 are coral-red. A white patch on the side of the neck 

 completes the bird's uniform. 



As it sits on a branch overhanging water, with its 

 head buried in its neck, but bobbing up and down with 

 spasmodic jerks as though it had a slight attack of 

 St. Vitus's dance, the bird puts one in mind of a 

 shrivelled-up Blue Hungarian bandsman dressed in a 

 uniform three sizes too large for him. When, however, 

 a fish shows itself the kingfisher becomes sprightly 

 enough. It slips into the water at a considerable angle 

 and reappears with its tiny quarry, which it first dashes 

 against a stone and then swallows. The whole process 

 is accomplished in about five seconds, and is performed 

 with ridiculous ease. 



No piece of water, which contains fish or Crustacea, 

 is too small to serve as a preserve for the common king- 

 fisher. I once saw one sitting up over a pool, not three 

 square yards in area, which had formed in a hole by 

 the roadside. 



A pair of kingfishers inhabit the Victoria Regia pond 

 in the Botanical Gardens at Madras, another make the 



ijS 



