Belted Kingfisher 209 



the indigestible skin, bones, and scales of the 

 fish are thrown up without the least nausea. 



A certain part of a favourite lake or stream 

 this fisherman patrols with a sense of ownership 

 and rarely leaves it. Alone, but self-satisfied, 

 he clatters up and down his beat as a police- 

 man, going his rounds, might sound his rattle 

 from time to time. The rattle-headed bird 

 knows every pool where minnows play, every 

 projection along the bank where a fish might 

 hide, and is ever on the alert, not only to catch a 

 dinner, but to escape from the sight of the child 

 who intrudes on his domain and wants to 

 "know" him. You cannot mistake this big, 

 chunky bird, fully a foot long, with grayish- 

 blue upper parts, the long, strong wings and 

 short, square tail dotted in broken bars of 

 white, and with a heavy, bluish band across his 

 white breast. His mate and children wear 

 rusty bands instead of blue. The crested 

 feathers on top of his big, powerful head reach 

 backward to the nape like an Indian chief's 

 feather bonnet, and give him distinction. 

 Under his thick, oily plumage, as waterproof 

 as a duck's, he wears a suit of down under- 

 clothing. 



No doubt you have heard that all birds are 

 descended from reptile ancestors ; that feathers 

 are but modified scales, and that a bird's song 

 is but the glorified hiss of the serpent. Then 



