174 BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



scenes I have ever looked upon have been 

 the domestic life at the small nests of 

 Warblers and Finches. 



Of all places for successful bird-watch- 

 ing I think the sides of a stream are 

 the best, especially if the banks should 

 be covered with bushes and trees. So 

 many birds come to the stream, and 

 if you keep perfectly still they will 

 take little notice of you. I have 

 mentioned before that I once had a 

 beautiful Kingfisher come and settle a 

 few inches from me while I was sitting 

 in full view on the banks ; in fact I was 

 at the time writing an article on the 

 birds of the stream, when this obliging 

 little bird came and stayed with me for 

 twenty minutes ! Two years ago I knew 

 that a pair of Kingfishers had a nest 

 near a picturesque lake, but although 

 I searched every available spot, as I 

 thought, I could not find the nest. 

 Almost at the end of the nesting season, 



