76 ANNALS OF BIRD LIFE. 



galleries, and the fine sand and soil falls in a 

 heap on the ground below the entrance to them. 

 Another bird miner, almost as well known as the 

 Sand Martin, is the Kingfisher. This bird digs 

 and delves into the steep banks of brooks and 

 ponds, only the beak is the tool employed in 

 boring instead of the feet. I have seen King- 

 fishers' beaks much worn after the nest has been 

 made, owing to the hardness of the bank and the 

 incessant way in which the birds have worked. 

 The tunnel is made to a depth of three or four 

 feet, and does not differ in any important par- 

 ticular from that of the Sand Martin. At the 

 end of the burrow the eggs are laid on an 

 accumulation of fish bones, for this bird, be it 

 known, frequents its breeding hole on and off 

 throughout the year. The gaudy Bee Eater, 

 and occasionally the Roller, are also miner birds, 

 but as they do not breed in this country, a de- 

 tailed description is scarcely necessary. Another 

 bird belonging to this class of architects is the 

 comical Puffin or Sea Parrot. These birds love 

 to breed on uninhabited islets where the soil is 

 deep and easily burrowed, and in such chosen 

 haunts the ground is literally undermined in all 

 directions by their winding galleries. These 

 tunnels resemble rabbit holes, and often extend 

 for several yards through the soil ere the nest 

 chamber is reached, which is usually lined with a 

 little dry grass, and sometimes a feather or two, 

 where the solitary egg is deposited. Puffins work 



