284 Wild Life in Wales 



the young being just fledged on i2th August, on which 

 date I watched them, at very close quarters, for a long time, 

 sitting about on the willow bushes, uttering their sibilant 

 cry of sitZy sitz, and waiting impatiently for the coming of a 

 parent with a fish. Although they could only just fly, and 

 almost allowed me to touch them with my fishing- 

 rod before taking alarm, they showed no fear of the 

 water, but seemed instinctively to know that therein lay 

 their proper prey, and the orthodox way of catching it. 

 Their perches all overhung deep, still water, where it was 

 very unlikely that any small fish, or other creatures, 

 could attract their notice ; but time after time one of the 

 five would turn his bill downwards, gaze into the water a 

 moment, and then go in with "a header" almost like an 

 old bird. Nothing was ever brought up from these dives, 

 and I do not think the capture of prey could have been 

 their object, for I feel pretty sure that the birds could not 

 have left the nest more than a few hours, and it is extremely 

 unlikely that they could yet have caught anything for 

 themselves. They evidently enjoyed the diving, however, 

 and had all the appearance of being on the outlook for prey, 

 and showed a marvellous aptitude for their trade. After 

 each dive the bird gave itself a vigorous shake, upon 

 gaining some of the lower boughs, whence, by easy stages, 

 it quickly found its way back to the neighbourhood of its 

 original perch. 



It is a common mistake to suppose that the first plumage 

 of Kingfishers is " almost as bright as that of their parents " ; 

 the fact being that, when they first leave the nest, they are 

 really very dull coloured, by comparison quite dingy, and 

 it is some time before "a gleam" appears even to the 

 rump. It is still longer before the under parts lose the 

 distinctiveness of immaturity. 



One of the nests here, was in rather an unusual position. 

 Suitable banks are rather scarce, and many of them very 

 liable to be flooded ; but a large larch tree, which had been 

 blown down, by the side of the lake, had raised a wall of soil 

 upon its roots, and into this the Kingfishers had bored their 

 hole. Two holes had, in fact, been bored ; but one of these 



