The Kingfishers' Home Life 



77 



are worn by the female's feet the full length of the tunnel, as she 

 passes in and out. 



The Kingfisher's knowledge of construction, her ingenious manner 

 of hiding her eggs from molestation, and her constancy to her young, 

 arouse our interest and admiration. We must also appreciate the 



NINE DAYS OLD 



difficulty with which the digging is attended, the meeting of frequent 

 stones to block the work, which, by the way, may be the cause of 

 the change in direction of the hole, but which I was inclined to 

 believe intentional until I found a perfectly straight passage, in 

 which a brood Avas successfully raised. 



To get photographs of a series of the eggs and young was almost 

 as difficult a task, I believe, as the Kingfisher had in making the 

 hole. It was necessary to walk at least four miles and dig down to 

 the back of the nest, through the bank above, and fill it in again 

 four times without deranging the nest or frightening away the parent 

 birds. But we are well repaid for the trouble, for the pictures 

 accurately record what could not be described. 



A photograph of the seven eggs was taken before they had even 

 been touched, and numerous disgorgements of fish bones and scales 

 show about the roomy apartment. The shapely domed ceiling, as 

 well as the arch of the passage, is constructionally necessary for the 

 safety of the occupants, the former being even more perfect than 

 the pictures show. What is generally called instinct in birds has 

 long since been to me a term used to explain what in reality is in- 

 telligence. 



Some writer has mentioned that as soon as the young Kingfishers 



