CHAPTER XXIV 

 TWO ODD FELLOWS 



"KuK — kuk — kuk ! Crock — c-r-o-c-k — c-r-o-c-k! " 

 cried a harsh voice from the wood edge. 



" Tr-r-r-at-tat-tat I " rattled another bird from over 

 the river bank. 



" Those mnst both be Woodpeckers," said the cliil- 

 dren ; "for both noises are like hammering." 



" Yes," continued Nat, " and I see the one who made 

 the rattle. It is a Woodpecker with a very big head 

 and bob tail, and sort of gray with black straps in 

 front. See, uncle! He is on a branch of that dead 

 tree, right over the river — there, he has fallen off 

 into the water ! " 



The Doctor smiled as he said: ''Here is another case 

 of mistaken identity — very much like Dodo with her 

 rare Meadowlark I This bird is a Kingfisher, who did 

 not fall into the water, but dived in after the fish for 

 which he sat watching." 



" So some wood birds eat fish, as well as the Osprey 

 that we saw at the beach ; but how do they chew them, 

 Uncle Roy ? " 



" They do not chew them. If the fish is not too 

 large, they swallow it whole, and very funny faces 

 they make sometimes in doing so. If it is too large, 

 they beat it against a branch and tear it before eating. 



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