KINGFISHER 



A Iced o isp i da 



Kingfisher is a resident on the banks of most rivers, 

 streams, lakes, and ponds throughout the British Islands, 

 but is somewhat rarer in the north of Scotland, and has 

 not been recorded from the Outer Hebrides or the 

 Orkneys and Shetlands. 



The Kingfisher loves a quiet and secluded haunt, 

 and is especially fond of little streams, with wooded and 

 precipitous banks, where the tall trees almost meet overhead, and the only- 

 indication of its presence is the indistinct gleam of bluish light as it darts 

 rapidly past. It is a very shy and wary bird, and it is not often that the 

 observer is fortunate enough to see its actions as it searches for its prey. 

 Almost like a flash it will alight on some swaying twig overhanging the 

 water, where it will sit for a few moments eagerly scanning the pool below. 

 Suddenly it will drop down into the water, and almost before one has time 

 to breathe it is back again on its perch with a tiny fish struggling in its bill. 

 One or two blows on the branch and the fish is neatly turned in the bill to 

 be swallowed head first, or, perhaps, to be carried off to feed the hungry 

 young ones in the nest. The Kingfisher usually has a favourite perch in 

 its particular beat of the stream, on which it is nearly always to be seen 

 some dead stick in the middle of the water, an overhanging twig, or it may 

 be a rock or sluice-gate. There it sits for hours silently watching for its 

 prey, every now and then plunging down into the water to secure some 

 unwary fish. 



The Kingfisher's food consists chiefly of small fish, but it also takes 

 various kinds of insects and their larvae, shrimps, and small crustaceans. 

 The indigestible portions of its food are cast up in the form of pellets, and its 

 roosting-place and nesting-hole are usually full of them. 



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