180 HABITS OF THE KINGFISHER. 



part of tlie body of a fish. The struggles of the choking bird became more and more 

 faint, and had well-nigh ceased, when a pike protruded liis broad nose from the water, 

 seized both Kingfisher and fish, and disappeared with them into the regions below. 



The same person who related this tragical story, and who has always felt an ardent 

 love for birds, beasts, and things tliat enjoy the blessings of life, and to whom I have 

 been indebted for much curious iiilbrmation and many valuable specimens of natural 

 history, also tells me that Kingfisliers are greatly susceptible of music, provided that it 

 be played in a slow and solemn strain like the old ecclesiastic chants. There was an 

 organ in the house placed in a room that looked toward the stream wliich the Kingfishers 

 frequented, and it was observed by the household that whenever music of such a character 

 was played upon the organ, the Kingfishers would soon make their appearance at the 

 bottom of the garden, and sit as if enchanted with the strains. Quick and lively airs 

 seemed rather to disconcert the birds, a fact which was not discovered until after many 

 experiments and the consumption of much time. 



With the fish it generally feeds its young, being able to disgorge at will the semi- 

 digested food which it has swallowed, after the manner of most birds of prey. Fish, 

 however, do not constitute its sole nourishment, as it is known to eat various insects, such 

 as dragon-flies and water-beetles, and will often in cold weather pay a visit to the sea- 

 shore for the purpose of feeding upon the little crabs, shrimps, and sandhoppers that are 

 found upon the edge of the tide. Still, by far the greatest portion of its diet is composed 

 of fish ; and I have never yet found any fragments of insect anatomy among the debris 

 which forms the nest. 



The nest of the Kingfisher is always made in some convenient bank, at the extremity 

 of a hole which has previously been occupied and deserted by the water-rat or other 

 mining ciuadrupeds, and been enlarged and adapted for use by the Kingfisher. Now and 

 then the nest of this bird has been found built in the deserted hole of a ralibit-warren. 

 It is always found that the tunnel slopes gently upward, and that the bird has shaped 

 the extremity into a globular form in order to contain the parent bird, the nest, and eggs. 

 Sometimes the nest is placed in the natural crevices formed by the roots of trees growing 

 on the water's edge. In many cases it is easily detected, for the birds are very careless 

 about the concealment of their nest even before the eggs are hatched, and after the young 

 have made their appearance in the world, they are so clamorous for food and so insatiable 

 in their appetite that their noisy voices can be heard for some distance, and indicate with 

 great precision the dii'cction of their home. 



Some writers say that the interior of the burrow is kept so scrupulously clean that it is 

 free from all evil scents. My own experience, however, contradicts this assertion, for 

 after introducing the hand into a Ivingfisher's nest, I have always found it imbued with 

 so offensive an odour that I was fain to wash it repeatedly in the nearest stream. As the 

 Kingfisher is so piscatorial in its habits, it would naturally be imagined that the nest 

 would be placed in close connexion with the stream from whicli the parent birds obtained 

 their daily food. I have, however, several times seen a Kingfisher's nest, and obtained 

 the eggs, in spots that were not within half a mile of a fish-inliabited stream. The bird is 

 greatly attached to the birrrow in which it has once made its nest, and will make use of 

 the same spot year after year, even though the nest be plimdered and the eggs stolen. 



The eggs are from six to eight in number, rather globular in form, and of an exquisitely 

 delicate pink in colour while fresh, changing to a pearly white when the contents are 

 removed. As soon as the young are able to exert themselves, they perch on a neigh- 

 bouring twig or other convenient resting-place, and squall incessantly for food. In a 

 very short time they assume their yearling plumage, which is very nearly the same as 

 that of the adult bird, and soon learn to fish on their own account. 



The nest of the Kingfisher has long been known to consist of the bones, scales, and 

 other indigestible portions of the food, which are ejected from tlie mouth in " castings," 

 like those of the hawk or owl ; but until Mr. Gould recently procured a perfect Kingfisher's 

 nest, its shape and the manner of construction was entirely unknown. His account of its 

 discovery, and the ingenious manner in which it was procured, is so interesting that it 

 must be given in his own words. 



