SOME BIRDS OF THE STREAM 71 



In some few places, too, rocks are called into 

 requisition. 



The gaudy plumed Kingfisher is another regular 

 watcher by the waterside, but we are afraid that he is 

 getting scarcer year by year ; certainly in some 

 localities. Here on the Wye, for example, he is far 

 from being numerous, though we do not think that 

 many are shot or netted. Another reason which 

 makes this tropical-plumaged bird appear rarer than 

 he is, is that he is very jealous of his fishing preserves, 

 driving off any intruder with great pertinacity. 

 Consequently we seldom find more than one pair to 

 every two miles of river. 



The Kingfisher suffers severely in very hard weather, 

 because his feeding grounds become frozen over, and 

 then the poor bird is indeed in sore plight. We do 

 not think that this species often excavates a hole 

 entirely for itself, though of course it always forms 

 the chamber at the end of the tunnel to lay its eggs 

 in. It is a very wary bird at the nest too, and unless 

 there be young great difficulty will often be ex- 

 perienced in finding it, though the hole may be 

 distinguished from that of the Sand-martin, by being 

 nearly round, whereas the latter's is rather a flat 

 cavity, if we may use such a term. Further, it 

 cannot be well confused with the water vole's bury, 

 for, besides being smaller, it is usually much higher 

 up the bank out of the way of floods, so that it is 

 fairly easy to identify it, failing a sight of the birds 

 themselves. 



Occasionally this bird will hover over the stream 

 like a Kestrel, plunging in on the slant when a suit- 



