144 American Birds 



the kingfisher were not there, for, to my mind, he helps 

 to make the place what it is. 



The kingfisher is a fellow of ways and means. I used 

 to think he always took a site along the river for a home, 

 but this is not so. Perhaps a good nesting site at the river 

 side is not always to be had. Three years ago I found a 

 kingfisher living in a bank on the heights back of the city. 

 This was a good mile from his place of business, a kind 

 of suburban home where he could enjoy the fly after fish- 

 ing along the river. I often saw him go back and forth, 

 and heard his rattle high above the housetops of the 

 crowded city. It seemed to me the difficult problem of 

 living so far from the river would have to be settled when 

 the youngsters were full-grown. How could the parents 

 get them clear across the city to the river hunting-grounds ? 

 By watching, I found that young kingfishers do not leave 

 their nests until they are fully fledged and can fly quite a 

 long distance. As near as I could judge the tousled-headed 

 youngsters sailed almost the entire distance, from the high 

 position on the heights to the river, in one try. 



I was acquainted with another pair of kings that used 

 to keep watch for fish about Ladd's pond. They had an 

 outlook on a dead limb over the water that was usually 

 held by one of the birds. The first year I found this pair 

 I was especially interested. The male bird caught my 

 attention because I could see that something was the matter 

 with his bill. I saw him dive, and at first I thought he 

 caught a fish, for his mouth was open, but I watched him 

 again and each time he seemed to miss, but his mouth was 

 always open. 



This pair of kingfishers dug a nest in the bank of 



