THE KING-FISHER. 283 



are of a reddish yellow, and the three joints of the out- 

 ward toe adhere to the middle one, whilst the inner one 

 is only attached to the first. 



From the diminutive size, the slender short legs, and 

 the beautiful colours of this bird, no person would be 

 led to suppose that it is one of the most rapacious little 

 animals that skims the deep ; yet it is for ever on the 

 wing, feeds on fish, of which it takes a surprising num- 

 ber, when we consider the smallness of its size, it 

 chiefly frequents the banks of rivers, and takes«its prey 

 like the osprey, balancing itself at a certain distance 

 above the water for a considerable time, then darting 

 down into the deep, and seizing the fish with the most 

 inevitable aim. On a bright day, whilst it remains 

 suspended in the air, it exhibits an appearance quite 

 dazzling to the sight ; and it is probably owing to the 

 extraordinary beauty of its plumage, that so many fic- 

 titious stories about it may have taken rise. 



Of this bird it has been said, that she built her nest 

 upon the water, and possessed a charm about her that 

 allayed the fury of the waves, so that during the time 

 she was sitting, the mariner might venture over the 

 roughest seas. Cicero has written a long poem in 

 praise of the halcyon, which the ancients suppose to 

 be this very bird ; but as, in the Indian Ocean, many 

 different nests float upon the surface of the waves, it is 

 difficult to determine whether it is the same. 



The king-fisher with which we are at present ac- 

 quainted, is neither capable of allaying the storm, or of 

 erecting its nest upon the waves; but hollows, with its 

 bill, a hole in the earth, generally about a yard deep : 

 the bottom of this hole is considerably enlarged, and 

 lined through with the down of the willow ; and though 

 the ancients supposed it was made of the bones of the 



