THE BELTED KINGFISHER. 61 



In no other way can the kingfisher get a living 

 but by fishing. You may be out for a walk, with 

 eyes and ears open, and you will see the fisher 

 sitting silently on the limb of a tree by the edge 

 of the water. He does not stir a feather. He 



THE BELTED KINGFISHER. 



scarcely blinks his eyes. He might be a stuffed 

 bird set up on a bough. Suddenly, quicker than 

 your eye can follow, he darts straight into the 

 water, head foremost. 



Now, if the king had a head like a thrush or a 

 warbler, he would make a failure at fishing. But 

 his strong, thick skull follows the tip of his beak 



