6o. ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA 



deal away from the water, and are said to prey chiefly 

 on insects. 



I think the most fascinating of all to watch at his work 

 is the handsome little " pied kingfisher." This bird, in 

 its neat black and white uniform, may be seen poised 

 perhaps twenty feet or more above some pool, the body 

 held stationary, the wings beating rapidly up and down, 

 while the head and tail are both bent downwards almost 

 at right angles to the body. Suddenly it sees a fish near 

 the surface. At once the wings close, and down goes 

 the bird headlong straight to the spot. A resounding 

 splash, and it is lost to sight, to emerge in a few seconds 

 triumphant, its finny prey wriggling in its beak, or un- 

 successful but undaunted. When hovering above the 

 water the position is often changed by a quick dart to 

 one side or the other, and the expectant pose resumed. 



A kingfisher may often be noticed sitting on a branch 

 holding his newly caught prey in his beak. If you watch 

 him, you will see him regarding it with reflective air, and 

 then raising his head he will bring the unfortunate victim 

 with a resounding thwack against the branch on which 

 he is sitting. He will repeat this action several times 

 with a pause for consideration between each, and when 

 he concludes that it is sufficiently dead not to make any 

 trouble while on its way down his throat, he proceeds 

 to swallow it whole. 



Rollers and other insect -eating birds frequently deal 

 with their prey in the same manner. 



THE CARMINE-THROATED BEE-EATER may be mentioned, 

 as it is one of the most brilliantly plumaged birds in 

 south Africa, in its garb of green, crimson, pink, black, 

 and bright blue. Bee-eaters can be recognized by the 

 elongation of the two central tail feathers. 



THE LITTLE BEE-EATER is rather sociable in habit. 



