228 THE COMMON KINGFISHER. 



the bones at the entrance being dry and crumbling. On open- 

 ing the nest six eggs were found on the fragments of the 

 structure." This agrees with my own observations. On May 

 2nd, 1890, a nest was dug out of the bank at Eden, above the 

 " pouch," near Eden Grove, below Dairsie Mill. The nest was 

 3 feet 6 inches into the bank ; it was dug out with a trowel. 

 There were five young ones. The entrance was 3 J inches high 

 by 2J broad, shaped like a pear. It widened as it went in, and 

 was 8 inches at the end, and scooped out like a saucer for 

 holding the nest, which was composed of the bones of the 

 stickleback or red minnow — all clean, short bones, from a 

 quarter to half an inch long, and about as many as a breakfast 

 <mp would hold, and so loosely held together that the nest 

 could not lift ; the pink spikes of the stickleback easily seen 

 amongst the small bluish-white bones of the minnows. There 

 was no roots nor dried grass nor other materials, but the fish 

 bones and the scooped-out sand, known to be formed long 

 before the eggs were laid ; and as the small bones could not 

 well be gathered bit by bit, they were likely the castings or the 

 pellets of the birds themselves, and, not unlikely, as Montagu 

 says, " dried by the heat of the birds f at least they were dry 

 and clean, but with moist pellets around it. The nest was 

 formed at the end of the hole, on the level, then sloped down 

 to allow the effensive matter to run out, which was seen 

 running down about 3 feet on the outside. The entrance was 

 6 feet up in the bank. There were about twenty sand martins' 

 nests 2 feet above this. On passing along the bank the young 

 ones were heard chirping like young starlings. They were 

 taken out and counted, then replaced in the nest again. They 

 were about ten days old, as the feathers were just beginning to 

 appear, and seemed as if covered with a coat of mail. 



On May 23rd, 1892, another nest was found, with four eggs, 

 8 feet up in the same Dank, within three yards of the last one. 

 The nest was similar, but no fceces seen on the outside, as there 

 were no young birds to foul it. The hole of this nest was 

 discovered a month before the eggs were taken. Sometimes as 

 many as eight eggs have been got in a nest, and sometimes the 

 nest got as far as 8 feet into a hole. In July, a nest was found 

 in a bank, screened by the roots of a large beech tree in front 

 of it. The entrance to the hole was 12 feet from the level of 

 stream, and 2 feet 3 inches into the bank. There were six young 

 ones. When ripe they sat at the mouth of the hole to be fed, 

 like the sand-martins, and continued a long time in the nest 



