NESTING-SERIES OF BRITISH BIRDS. &7 



burrow, either dug out by the bird or made by a rabbit. The young 

 are fed on small fish, which are carried tranversely in the bill of the 

 parent, and as many as eight are sometimes brought at a time. 



Island of Grassholme, Pembrokeshire, July. 



Presented by Colonel P. W. U Estrange. 



No. 98. MANX SHEARWATER. (Puffinus angloram.) 



This species is widely distributed over British waters throughout the 

 year, and breeds on many of the unfrequented islands round our 

 coasts, with the exception of those on the eastern shores of Great 

 Britain, where no breeding-station has as yet been found. It skims 

 the surface of the waves with rapid flight in search of surface-fish and 

 other floating food, and is also an expert diver. The single white egg 

 is deposited in a burrow on a few blades of dry grass. The nestling 

 remains in its home until long after it is fully fledged and, becoming 

 enormously fat, is greatly esteemed by some as an article of food. 



Isles of Scilly, June. 

 Presented by Edward Bidwell, Esq. 



No. 99. KINGFISHER. (Alcedo ispida.) 



This resident species is common along the banks of streams and 

 lakes and on many parts of the coast of England, but is less numerous 

 in Scotland and Ireland. It feeds on small fish, crustaceans, and insects, 

 the first-named being secured by a sudden plunge from some convenient 

 perch above the water. The nesting-place, which is a hole in the bank 

 two or three feet in length and terminating in a chamber, is generally 

 excavated by the birds. The entrance is usually situated above the 

 reach of floods, but occasionally a site is selected at some distance 

 from water. No nest is constructed, but in old nesting-chambers the 

 floor is covered with bones and scales of fish, which have been cast up 

 by the young of previous broods. The eggs vary in number from six 

 to nine and are rounded, white, and highly glossy. In the group 

 exhibited, part of the bank has been removed to show the internal 

 construction of the burrow and four of the young eighteen days old, 

 which are still being fed by the parent-bird. The two young birds 

 perched outside the entrance were respectively six and seven weeks old, 

 and able to care for themselves. 



Suffolk, May. 



Presented by T. Har court-Powell, Esq. 



