346 WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



a brook which ran for some distance beside a double- 

 mound hedge. There was a hatch just there too, 

 forcing the water into two ponds, one each side of 

 the mound. The brook had worn itself a deep chan- 

 nel, and so required a hatch to bring it up to a level 

 convenient for cattle. I had known for some time 

 that there was a nest in that mound from the con- 

 tinued presence of the two old birds, but could not 

 find it. But when the young could fly a little they 

 appeared on this branch projecting almost over the 

 falling water, and there they took up their station 

 day after day. Every now and then the parents 

 came with small fish, which they caught farther down 

 the brook, for just in that place there were only a. few 

 perch and perhaps a tench or two. The colours are 

 much less brilliant on the young birds, and they do 

 not obtain the deep rich hues of their parents until 

 the following spring. I have shot many young birds 

 in the winter ; they are by that time much improved 

 in colour, but may be distinguished without difficulty 

 from the full-grown bird. 



Though so swift, the kingfisher is comparatively 

 easy to shoot, because he flies as straight as an 

 arrow ; and if you can get clear of bushes or willow- 

 pollards he may be dropped without trouble. When 

 disturbed the kingfisher almost invariably flies off in 

 one favourite direction ; and this habit has often 

 proved fatal to him, because the sportsman knows 

 exactly which way to look, and carries his gun pre- 

 pared. Wherever the kingfisher's haunt may be, he 



