The Kingfishers and their King Row 145 



would never seize of their own accord. It was necessary to 

 open their bills and press the food well down into their dis- 

 tensible throats. They would perch on a branch placed in their 

 cage, drink water and sit in it by the half-hour, but never touch 

 the most tempting morsels of food. Raw meat was rejected, 

 but they throve on fish if fed by the hand. When perched they 

 stood as before on the whole tarsus or shank, and would sit 

 together in silence, with breasts thrown out, for hours. You 

 heard only an occasional rattle, and that usually in the morning. 

 The Kingfisher's oesophagus is very distensible and the throat 

 is lined with inwardly projecting papillae, so that when a fish is 

 once taken in the throat it is impossible for it to escape. 



The bill of the Kingfisher is grooved on the inside, thus 

 giving the mandibles sharp cutting edges and a firm gripe on 

 the prey. A fish once seized rarely makes its escape, to prevent 

 which the bird has other resources. I once saw a curious trick 

 performed by a Kingfisher, who having made a good capture 

 was perched on a dead tree over the water. In the course of 

 its struggles the fish nearly got free, and for a moment was held 

 only by its tail. The bird with a quick movement of the head 

 tossed the fish in the air, and as it descended caught it by the 

 head and proceeded to swallow it. 



When liberated on August i2th, at the age of thirty-three 

 days, the young Kingfishers were suddenly thrown upon their 

 own resources, and it was questionable whether they would be 

 able to recover the instinct to seek and capture prey. How- 

 ever, they were strong and healthy, and I hope that nature came 

 to their aid not only in prompting them to find food, but in 

 starting them south later in the autumn. 



