THE KINGFISHER iv> 



s|>ot at full tilt, using the tirelr after the fashion of a lance, 

 till ti cavity is made large enough to afford a grip for the feet 1 In 

 country where the river runs between high banks, a greater variety 

 of choice is possible in the selection of nesting-sites, when the hole 

 is generally placed much higher up. As with other species, how- 

 ever, it exhibits a certain waywardness in the site selected for Me 

 nursery, since nests have been found in crumbling soil under the 

 roots of a tree, holes in masonry, and the sides of gravel and chalk 

 l>it> as much as a mile away from the nearest water. Occasionally, 

 when the tunnel has been driven some distance, a stone or root is 

 encountered which stops further progress, and a fresh start has to 

 be made. 



As a rule, such nests take the form of a long ascending tunnel, 

 about a yard long, ending in a brooding chamber, the eggs resting on 

 a platform of fish bones, and the hard parts of shrimps and other 

 indigestible portions of its food. These remains are the gradual 

 accumulations of " pellets " thrown up, as in the case of owls, hawks, 

 and many other birds which swallow food containing much indigest- 

 ible matter. According to Montagu, these accumulations are not 

 accidental, the birds resorting to their burrows for the purpose of 

 ridding themselves of these pellets for some time before the first eggs 

 are laid. Yarrell describes this platform as a "nest," cup-shaped, 

 and smooth within, and possibly fashioned by the bird's breast, or by 

 the mere pressure of her body during incubation. Sometimes, with 

 great care, such " nests " may be removed entire, but they generally 

 crumble. This difficulty of preserving the bed on which the eggs are 

 deposited entire possibly accounts for the stories of the almost fabu- 

 lous value of such entire specimens. At any rate, offers of such whole 

 *' nests " are not infrequently offered to the authorities of the British 

 Museum at perfectly ridiculous prices. Sometimes, it would seem, 

 the deserted nest of a sandmartin is utilised, both kingfisher and 

 sandmartin frequently breeding in the same bank, and this accounts 



1 Country Ltft, p. 258. 1008. 



