THE KINGFISHER. 



The Lone Fisherman. 



QJ 



(^ HE American species belongs 

 to the true group of Kingfish- 

 efs. It occupies the whole 

 continent of North America 

 and although migrating in the north, 

 he is a constant resident of our south- 

 em states. The belted Kingfisher is 

 the only variety found along the 

 inland streams of the United States. 

 Audubon declares that "belted" should 

 apply only to the female, however. 



Like most birds of brilliant plum- 

 age, the Kingfisher prefers a quiet and 

 secluded haunt. It loves the little 

 trout streams, with wooded and pre- 

 cipitous banks, the still ponds and 

 small lakes, ornamental waters in 

 parks, where it is not molested, and 

 the sides of sluggish rivers, drains and 

 mill-ponds. 



Here in such a haunt the bird often 

 flits past like an indistinct gleam of 

 bluish light. Fortune may sometimes 

 favor the observer and the bird may 

 alight on some twig over the stream, 

 its w^eight causing it to sway gently to 

 and fro. It eagerly scans the shoal of 

 young trout sporting in the pool below, 

 when suddenly it drops down into the 

 water, and, almost before the observer 

 is aware of the fact, is back again to 

 its perch with a struggling fish in its 

 beak. A few blows on the branch and 

 its prey is ready for the dexterous 

 movement of the bill, which places it 

 in a position for swallowing. Some- 

 times the captured fish is adroitly 

 jerked into the air and caught as it 

 falls. 



Fish is the principal food of the 

 Kingfisher ; but it also eats various 

 kinds of insects, shrimps, and even 

 small crabs. It rears its young in a 

 hole, which is made in the banks of 

 the stream- it frequents. It is a slat- 

 ternly bird, fouls its own nest and its 

 peerless eggs. The nesting hole is 



bored rather slowly, and takes from 

 one to two weeks to complete. Six or 

 eight white glossy eggs are laid, some- 

 times on the bare soil, but often on the 

 fish bones which, being indigestible, 

 are thrown up by the bird in pellets. 



The Kingfisher has a crest of feath- 

 ers on the top of his head, which he 

 raises and lowers, especially when try- 

 ing to drive intruders away from his 

 nest. 



The plumage is compact and oily, 

 making it almost impervious to water. 

 The flesh is fishy and disagreeable to the 

 taste, but the eggs are said to be good 

 eating. The wings are long and 

 pointed and the bill longer than the 

 head. The voice is harsh and monot- 

 onous. 



It is said that few birds are con- 

 nected with more fables than the King- 

 fisher. The superstition that a dead 

 Kingfisher when suspended by the 

 throat, would turn its beak to that 

 particular point of the compass from 

 which the wind blew, is now dead. 

 It was also supposed to possess many 

 astonishing virtues, as that its dried 

 body would avert thunderbolts, and 

 if kept in a wardrobe would preserve 

 from moths the woolen stuffs and the 

 like contained in it. 



" Under the name of " halcyon," it 

 was fabled by the ancients to build its 

 nest on the surface of the sea, and to 

 have the power of calming the troubled 

 waves during its period of incubation ; 

 hence the phrase "halcyon days." 



A pair of Kingfishers have had their 

 residence in a bank at the south end 

 of Washington Park, Chicago, for at 

 least three seasons past. We have 

 watched the Kingfisher from secluded 

 spots on Long Island ponds and tidal 

 streams, where his peculiar laughing 

 note is the same as that which greets 

 the ear of the fisherman on far inland 

 streams on still summer days. 



63 



