BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



163 



her, although I have in several instances seen seven. The eggs, accord- 

 ing to my observation, are invariably deposited on the bare earth. Mr. 

 Gentry, however, tell us that he has "in many instances known them to 

 b<> deposited in a warm and cosy nest constructed of dried grasses and 

 feathers." Kingfishers feed almost entirely on fish. Their proficiency 

 in catching small fish is such that they are in bad repute among the 

 owners and proprietors of trout and carp ponds. Two gentlemen of my 

 acquaintance were so greatly annoyed by the loss of gold-fish and trout, 

 which had been sustained from the'regular visits of several pairs of these 

 birds, that they adopted the following means for their destruction : 

 Stakes were driven down about the ponds in several places ; the tops of 

 the stakes were sufficiently large to support steel-traps, which were set, 

 but not baited. The birds on visiting the ponds would invariably fly to 

 one of the stakes and alight. In less than one week ten or twelve king- 

 fishers were in this way trapped and killed. A friend of mine, some few 

 years ago, informed me that he caught one of these birds on a hook and 

 line, while fishing in the Brandywine, near Chadd's Ford. My infor- 

 mant said he had a live bait (minnow) on his hook, and as he was wind- 

 ing up his line on the reel, he saw a kingfisher plunge into the water 

 at his bait, which it not only caught, but at the same time hooked 

 and entangled itself so that it could not escape. One day B. M. 

 Everhart found a kingfisher lying on the bank of a small stream. On 

 making an investigation, Mr. Everhart ascertained that the bird was 

 unable to fly, as its bill was tightly clasped in the grasp of a large fresh- 

 water mussel. I have heard of two or three instances where kingfishers 

 have been captured under similar circumstances, which would naturally 

 lead one to suppose that they feed to a limited degree on the flesh of 

 these bivalves. 



According to certain writers, this species is said to feed occasionally, 

 though rarely, on insects. Mr. E. A. Samuels states that he once shot 

 a kingfisher which had just seized a mouse (Arvicola). 



The stomach contents of fourteen kingfishers examined by myself are 

 given in the following table: 



NO. ! 



DATE. 



LOCALITY 



FOOD-MATERIALS. 



