A WINGED FISHERMAN. 131 



to see it rise the next moment with a fish in 

 its bill, but, strange to say, it did not. What 

 could have befallen the bird? The narrator 

 of the incident says that he hurried to the 

 spot, and soon found a hole in the ice through 

 which the kingfisher had broken, but still the 

 bird was not to be seen until he looked farther, 

 when he found it dead beneath the ice a short 

 distance from the orifice. Perhaps it had 

 stunned itself when it struck the ice, or per- 

 haps, having once got underneath, the poor 

 bird could not break its way up. 



Kingfishers may also be seen flying along 

 the windings of a stream only a few feet above 

 the water, and when they catch a glimpse of a 

 fish below, down they plunge, and seldom fail 

 to secure the finny prize. They are lovers of 

 water, and prefer the vicinity of streams and 

 lakes, and yet a certain naturalist says that he 

 has found these birds in the desert regions of 

 southern Arizona, far from water, feeding on 

 lizards and insects. 



These birds often poise over the water, as a 

 hawk does over the meadow, the eye intent on 

 the finny tribes below. If the nest is near a 

 stream and the old birds are disturbed, the 

 female will throw herself upon the water and 

 flutter and flounder about as if she were 



