THE KINGFISHER AND ITS HOME 47 



and I liked to watch them then. His 

 loud call could be heard long before he 

 reached the branches above the nest, and 

 with him he always brought a nice fish. 

 She flew straight to him, opened her beak, 

 and fluttered her wings while he very 

 beautifully handed her the food. With 

 one or two big gulps this disappeared, 

 she shook all her feathers, and went back 

 to her duties in that dark, damp hole. 

 Once or twice when he was away a 

 long time, she came out and caught 

 fish for herself; no doubt she got tired 

 of waiting, for at times it seemed to me 

 that he must have almost forgotten that 

 he had a hungry mate waiting for a 

 meal. 



A favourite place for the male bird 

 to go to was a small boathouse on the 

 lake. Thousands of small fish congre- 

 gated there, and the bird would sit on 

 the edge of the boat and watch them. 

 He caught more than he could eat, for 



