SAND MARTIN— KINGFISHER 295 



Its food comprises insects during the summer, and seeds in the autumn and 

 winter; and it lives in small companies, often associating with sparrows and 

 chaffinches. It is distinguished from other buntings by its habit of climbing 

 taller plants when in search of food, by flying a great distance to find seed, and 

 by frequenting cabbage-fields in search of caterpillars. The song, which is 

 varied in its stammering delivery, resounds at all times of the day, and even at 

 night, from the beginning of April until late into the summer, giving the 

 impression of being produced with some difficulty, and recognisable at once by 

 the double note repeated several times and ending in a long drawl. 



Another bird that haunts the water, but is not found nesting so near, 

 is the sand martin (Cotile riparia), whose home is a burrow in a steep 

 sandy river-bank, or a railway-cutting or similar excavation with water not far off. 

 In mountainous regions, and parts of the country where the soil is stony, the sand 

 martin seldom makes its abode, but in sandy spots gathers in hundreds to form 

 breeding-colonies, single pairs being never seen. In steep banks it always makes its 

 nest high up, tunnelling for its reception a hole perhaps a yard or more in length, 

 which widens out at the end ; the nest itself being a mere handful of straw and 

 feathers, and the bank in its upper section being often honeycombed with holes 

 of this description. The sand martin flies mostly over the surface of the water, 

 resting occasionally on some old stump growing out of the bank, and feeds on 

 flying insects, mostly gnats. The young when they leave their parents settle 

 near the water and roost in the reed-beds, but old and young alike join in the 

 migration, which takes them in thousands at least as far as the Equator. The 

 sand martin is widely distributed all round the Northern Hemisphere from the 

 Arctic Circle downwards. 



Of all the European birds frequenting the water none is more 

 beautiful or more familiarly known than the kingfisher (Alcedo 

 ispida), which looks like a streak of blue flame, as it darts from its perch upon 

 some unsuspecting fish. If it catch the fish, which does not always happen, it 

 returns to its place, turning the captive round and round in its beak, until it 

 can be conveniently swallowed head first. Besides fish, the kingfisher feeds on 

 snails, crustaceans, and dragon-flies, water-beetles, and other insects ; and is often 

 obliged to content itself with these when the water has been rendered turbid by 

 a flood. When watching for fish, it will change its place to another spot if no 

 sport be obtainable, and occasionally move to another part of the water where, 

 hovering overhead like a falcon, it can look out for prey. When flying over the 

 water, it seldom goes farther than a hundred feet at a time, keeping so close to 

 the surface as rarely to rise higher than a yard above it ; and when pursued by a 

 hawk it endeavours to escape, not by flying away, but by dashing at once into 

 the stream. This lovely little azure bird chooses the most out-of-the-way places 

 wherein to build its nest, preferring overhanging slopes, where, working with beak 

 and feet, it can hollow out a horizontal cavity. The tunnel often penetrates to a 

 distance of 3 feet into the bank, the entrance lying from 3 to 9 feet above 

 the water; the hole itself being similar in form to a rat-hole, although easily 

 recognisable by the strong smell of fish that permeates the neighbourhood of its 



