THE KINGFISHERS 



93 



the gray band. The head of both the male and the fe- 

 male has a curious double or interrupted crest which is 

 always erected when the bird is at all alarmed or nervous. 



The kingfisher has two methods of fishing, either 

 waiting on a branch or projecting rock over the water 

 for its prey to swim beneath, or flying rather high over 

 the water until it locates a fish swimming near the sur- 

 face when it hovers for a moment on rapidly beating 

 wings. In either case the plunge is made head foremost, 

 with closed wings, and the fish is speared with the sharp 

 javelin-like bill. The bird itself is carried entirely be- 

 neath the surface of the water by the force of the fall 

 but, rising immediately, it returns to its former perch, 

 juggles the fish about until it gets the head directed 

 downward, and swallows it entire. The size of the fish 

 which can be swallowed is quite surprising. The indi- 

 gestible bones and scales are later ejected from the 

 mouth, much as in the owls, in the form of pellets. 



The kingfisher always nests in a hole drilled into the 

 perpendicular bank of a creek or sometimes far from 



A CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK 



Young kingfishers resemble their parents not only in color, but also in 

 disposition. They are wild, independent and noisy. 



water in a gravel pit or railroad cut. The hole is usually 

 within a few feet of the top of the bank and is directed 

 inward and upward for from four to ten feet and en- 

 larged at the end. No nest is built, but the bones of fish 

 which it has eaten often line the cavity. In drilling the 

 kingfisher uses its bill and pushes the soil out with its 

 feet. 



The feet of the kingfisher are small for the size of the 

 bird and, as in all other members of the family, the 

 front toes are grown more or less together. Possibly 

 this assists them in pushing the soil from the cavity as 

 they dig. At other times, however, the feet are little 

 used except for resting, as the birds never hop or run, 

 and there is reason, therefore, for their lack of develop- 

 ment. The young kingfishers rest on the whole tarsus 



which has become calloused so that it looks like the sole 

 of most bird's feet. 



Kingfishers usually return to the same bank year 

 after year but they always drill a new hole. In the 

 accompanying photograph of a railroad cut, the holes 

 made by a pair of kingfishers for several years can 

 be seen. The camera, concealed by grass, and focus- 

 ed upon a branch beneath the hole that was berrig oc- 

 cupied, will be noticed. The author lay concealed in 

 the field on the opposite side of the cut with a thread 

 attached to the shutter. Thus he secured the photo- 



PLAYING POSSUM 



If laid on its back a young kingfisher remains motionless with its head 

 on one side and feet up in the air. The calloused pads on the tarsus, as 

 well as the toes, can be seen. Young kingfishers normally rest on the 

 tarsus, and the toes are weak and incapable of grasping. 



graph of the kingfisher with the fish in its bill when it 

 returned to its nest and paused for an instant on the 

 branch. 



A pair of rough-winged swallows which were nesting 

 in one of the previous year's holes utilized the same 

 branch as a convenient perch. Once when the kingfisher 

 returned they were both perched upon it. Finding his 

 perch taken and looking for a place to alight, the king- 

 fisher espied the thread stretched from the camera 

 shutter across the cut and attempted to alight upon it. 

 In so doing, the weight of his body pulled upon the 

 thread, releasing the shutter, and took the photograph 

 of the rough-winged swallows here shown. 



Kingfishers are wary birds' and no matter how care- 

 fully one approaches, they will permit one to reach only 

 a safe distance before flying off, with a loud rattling cry, 

 to their next perch. They usually have a number of fa- 

 vorite perches along a stream but their hunting range is 

 rather limited and when frightened up stream from one 

 perch to another, they soon make a wide detour back to 

 their starting point. Their flight is strong and direct, 

 and when coming head-on is so very ducklike that hunt- 



