l80 COMMON KINGFISHER. 



rapidly past like a stream of light. It feeds chiefly 

 on small fish, especially on minnows, but it also eats 

 insects. A fish having been secured, it darts off with 

 it, and usually kills it by beating it against a stump 

 or bough ; it then swallows it head first. Occasionally 

 it will hover over the water when several small fish 

 are visible, after the manner of a Kestrel. The 

 plumage of the Kingfisher varies considerably. The 

 upper parts vary from a rich metallic cobalt blue 

 to emerald green, the head is barred and the wnngs 

 spotted, the under parts are a beautiful orange chest- 

 nut, shading into white on the throat. Its note is a 

 shrill "pip," usually uttered when flying over the 

 surface of the water. This bird can be kept in con- 

 finement, provided it is supplied with a plentiful stock 

 of its customary food. 



It is a pity to have to own that such a beautiful 

 creature as the Kingfisher is, in its nesting operations, 

 most foul and disgusting. Towards the end of April 

 the birds begin to prepare a place to receive the eggs. 

 For this purpose a hole, some two or three feet long, 

 is bored, generally in the bank of the stream from 

 which it gets its food. Occasionally an old rat hole 

 is used. The hole is bored in an upward direction, 

 and is usually straight, and the chamber at the end 

 in which the eggs are laid is lined with fish bones, 

 which the bird ejects in pellets. On these bones the 

 eggs are laid. After the young are hatched the nest 

 becomes extremely foul from the droppings of the 

 birds and decaying fish, and the whole passage 

 becomes covered with a filthy, sticky, gluey sub- 

 stance, emitting a sickening smell. Naturally, before 

 the young leave the nest, it frequently swarms with 

 maggots. 



