THE KINGFISHER. 71 



before, till another plunge denoted the capture of 

 another fish ; and so on, till after having captured 

 four or five, it darted away, and was seen no more, 

 Its nest is in great part composed of fish-hones, 

 which it throws up in pellets similar to those cast 

 up by Owls, of which we have already spoken. 



The. King 'ash 3 r. 



The Humming-birds are the last of this tribe we 

 shall notice, lamenting that none but those who 

 cross the seas, and can visit them in their native 

 haunts, will ever be fortunate enough to behold the 

 glorious robes with which nature can invest even the 

 smallest of her works. Truly may it be said of 

 these lovely birds, as of the lilies of the field, " that 

 Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 

 these/' 



" Never was I more excited to wonder than by 

 one of these little creatures," says a traveller*, " so 

 much more resembling a splendid shining insect than 

 a bird. It was on a fine day, at the commencement 

 of an American Summer, on the banks of Lake 

 * Captain Head's Forest Scenes. 



