9 



sliot inaii}^ merely for people to stuff, promised never 

 again to point his gun at the poor little Kingfisher. 



Two word pictures I will paint as witnessed by 

 myself. My point of 'vantage is a large hawthorn 

 ])usli on the banks of a silvery stream. Resting there 

 in tlie cool shade, after a long round or naturalising 

 walk, about thirty yards in front of me, looking up 

 stream, is a pole or lug (as it is called in this district) 

 stretched across the stream to prevent the cattle from 

 wading through the water and getting into other 

 pastures. As the banks are about six feet high, at 

 intervals the ground is sloped out in order to allow 

 the cattle to get to the water for drinking. I have not 

 sat there many minutes when aloug flashes his royal 

 highness the Kingfisher, who, coming up stream, 

 takes his stand upon the pole, and settles himself 

 down for business after a preliminary plume of his 

 feathers. He is facing me, looking down stream with 

 head bent down. He sits motionless for some little 

 time. I turn my head, and on looking back he has 

 vanished. The eddying waters tell their own tale. 

 Another moment and up he comes, flashing in the 

 sunlight, like a beautiful emerald with pearls and 

 diamonds dropping from him. He has been successful 

 in his plunge, as the struggling fish, held crosswise in 

 his long powerful bill, testifies. It is probably a 

 small roach, as there are no trout in this part of the 

 stream. A few vigorous strokes on the pole, from 

 side to side, in order to stun or kill his prey, two 

 forward movements of his head, the first of which 

 turns the fish from crosswise to lengthwise in his bill, 

 and the second sends it down his throat. He sits as 

 before, motionless, waiting for the next fish to come 

 along. I make amove to resume my journey, he sees 

 me as I emerge from the shelter of the bush, and takes 

 himself off up stream uttering his wild screeching 

 ^' Chee, chee, chee," and is soon lost to sight. 



