ALCEDO IPSIDA. 225 



This dwarf-like, but splendidly dressed, little bird (the king- 

 fisher) is a native of Britain, living all the year with us ; 

 unlike all the others in this group, which are migrants. It is 

 an inhabitant of the lakes and rivers, rivulets, ponds, and burns 

 throughout Britain, and consequently found in all the rivulets 

 about St Andrews. From the trout-frequented Kenley on the 

 east, to the salmon-stocked Eden on the west, with all the 

 minnow and stickleback-rilled rivulets between, and wherever 

 there are fish and aquatic insects to live upon, they go where 

 their food is — a safe rule in Nature — and followed by every 

 creature that can move. Its large head, long, dagger-like bill, 

 short tail, small legs, and emerald plumage distinguish it from 

 all our indigenous birds, for, while the bill is 1J inch long, 

 the tarsi are not half an inch in length. It prefers clear streams 

 (where minnows abound), whose banks are margined with 

 willows and bushes. It perches upon an overhanging bough or 

 stump of a tree, or a stone, "from which it watches its prey ; 

 some pool swarming with minnow, which sport amongst the 

 roots in search of their food, not knowing that they are keenly 

 eyed to contribute their own bodies to carry on the first law of 

 life. See, it stoops, then down it plunges head foremost, rises, 

 and sweeps oft' in a curve, wheels round, and returns to its post 

 with the never-failing minnow in its bill, which it strikes 

 against its perch, kills and swallows, head first, then assumes 

 its former attitude. If it sees a butterfly or aquatic insect it 

 darts, captures, and repeats the process. Sometimes it hovers 

 like a kestrel, and when the fish is near the surface, plunges in 

 and comes up with it in its bill. It has been watched, and 

 always caught its prey, the compact plumage, long bill, and 

 tapering head making it an expert and deadly fisher. It is a 

 true plunger, and as unerring as the gannet or tern. Its general 

 flight is like an arrow, direct and very rapid, sustained by 

 quick beats of its wings. It flies straight and horizontal near 

 the surface of the water, the short, broad wings enabling it to 

 fly with great speed — a long wing not being so well adapted for 

 rapid beats as a short one, for the short-winged guillemot can 

 outstrip the gull. It is a shy, solitary bird, and, unless paired, 

 two are seldom seen together. It shuns other birds, yet does 

 not shun the dwellings of man, as its nest is sometimes found 

 near houses and mills. I have seen it in the Kinness Burn, 

 ■close to the shore-bridge, and on the hull of an old sloop in the 

 upper harbour. In the spring of 1891 a pair frequented this 

 burn close to the bridge, evidently to form their nest into the 



