THE BELTED KINGFISHER. 63 



making a shadow on the water. Fish are quick 

 and shy. They are afraid of a shadow. You 

 may see this for yourselves by walking along the 

 bank where minnows are sunning themselves in 

 the clear water. If you are between the fish and 

 the sun, your shadow will frighten the fish, and 

 they will scurry under the nearest rock. If you 

 approach from the other bank, you do not disturb 

 them. 



If the kingfisher is a king, then his wife must 

 be a queen, though she goes by her mate's name, 

 just as a pair of phoebes are each known by the 

 name of Phoebe. 



Both birds take a hand at the nest-building, or 

 rather at the nest-digging. They select a suit- 

 able place on the face of a clay or sandy bank, 

 and dig with their beaks. Here they make good 

 use of their large, heavy heads again. As they 

 dig, they push the loose earth out and down be- 

 hind them. If you have the good luck to come 

 011 a pair at work, you will see the dirt rattling 

 down the cliff side. One bird digs until it is 

 tired, and then its mate lends a hand, or we 

 should say a beak. In this way a tunnel six or 

 eight feet long is made in the earth wall. Just 

 how long, it is hard to say. It is safe to say it is 

 some longer than a boy's arm, as the boy will find 



