132 NEWS FROM THE BIRDS. 



severely wounded and utterly unable to rise, 

 all this being done to lead the intruder to 

 wade out after her and thus fail to find her 

 precious brood. At the same time her mate 

 sits on a branch near by, flirting his tail, erect- 

 ing his crest, and then springs out into tlie air 

 passing and repassing before his enemy with 

 loud cries of alarm and anger. 



All that has been said thus far applies 

 only to the belted kingfisher, so familiar in 

 almost every part of this country. However^ 

 there is also the Texan kingfisher, a beautiful 

 little bird, its upper parts being dark green, 

 with a white collar around the hind neck ; its 

 wings and tail spotted with transverse bars of 

 white ; its lower parts pure white, with a band 

 of dark green across its breast. The sides 

 are spotted with green. This bird makes its 

 home mostly in South America, but some- 

 times wanders north as far as Texas and Ari- 

 zona. 



