S7 



BELTED KINGFISHERS are, as one 

 would judge from their name, expert 

 fisher birds. They come north in March, 

 just as soon as ponds or lakes show 

 open water. As we walk along the 

 shores, we may startle them from, or 

 see them perched on their lookout 

 perches, points of vantage from which 

 they are able to slant down headfirst 

 and plunge after any small fish that is 

 swimming near the surface. If the 

 quarry is too far away for a direct 

 plunge, they hover over the spot a few 

 moments before making the dive that 

 usually proves fatal to the fish. Fish 

 are seized in the opened mandibles and 

 carried to their perches or to the young, 

 if at that season. The adults devour 

 their prey whole, consequently only 

 small fish can be taken. If allowed 

 about a fish hatchery, they may do con- 

 siderable damage but the fish they 

 usually catch are of little or no value, 

 certainly not as much as the sight of 

 these creatures. They nest in holes 

 tunnelled in banks not far from the 

 water. 



many of them nest in suitable parts of our range, so that 

 they are practically residents. 



Our Cuckoos are only very distantly related to the Euro- 

 pean one and have none of the objectionable habits of the 

 latter bird, which is parasitic like our Cowbird. American 

 Cuckoos do build their own nests, even though they are 

 shabby affairs, and they care for their own young. 



YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS are a little larger and 

 are less common in our range than the Black-billed variety. 

 This species can easily be identified when seen, since the 

 lower mandible is yellowish, the long wing feathers are 

 rufous at their bases and the outer tail feathers are black, 

 with broad white tips. Cuckoos are rather indolent in 

 their movements, moving about comparatively little and 

 then only slyly slipping from the protection of one leafy 

 bower to another. Judging from their actions one might 

 suppose them to be criminals fugitives whose only safety 

 depended upon concealment. These actions, together with 

 their croaking notes cause them to be regarded with sus- 

 picion or superstition by many ignorant people, whereas 

 they are among our most beneficial birds, they being one of 

 the few species to feed extensively upon the destructive 

 tent caterpillars. 



