46 BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



a moment or two they chattered on the 

 branch, and they might have remained 

 there longer if an inquisitive Blackbird 

 with his loud cry of alarm had not told 

 them to fly. All the birds know the 

 Blackbird's cry, and few wait to actually 

 see the danger ; they are off as soon as 

 they hear the call. 



At the end of a week the hole was 

 finished, and it was impossible to see 

 what went on inside; but while the hen 

 was sitting I often went into the hiding 

 place built near, and I saw some won- 

 derfully pretty incidents in the life of 

 these birds. Sometimes I had to wait 

 two hours before I saw or heard a sign 

 of either of the Kingfishers. On one of 

 my waits, after nearly two hours had 

 gone by, the hen came out of the 

 hole, settled on a small branch outside, 

 waited there for a very short time 

 and popped back. But when she heard 

 her mate arriving she often came out, 



