BELTED KINGFISHER. 197 



height of from twenty to thirty feet above the surface, then poising themselves with rap- 

 idly vibrating wings for a few seconds, they will dart suddenly downward, striking the 

 water so forcibly as to frequently become entirely submerged. If the attempt be success- 

 ful, (hoy will rise with their prey which is usually a small fish, in their beaks, shake the 

 water from their wings, give a triumphant rattle, and fly cither to some favorite perch to 

 devour it or carry it to their nests. 



I have mentioned that the Kingfishers arc found throughout Florida, being as abun- 

 dant on the Keys as on the St. John's River. They must breed in all those localities, and 

 on the St. John's and other streams, bluffs having abrupt banks occasionally occur in 

 whirh they can make their holes, but I cannot conjecture where they build on the Keys as 

 I do not know of a single bank throughout their entire extent. On Indian River I found 

 them nesting in a singular situation. There is a narrow canal which connects Indian Riv- 

 er with Mosquito Lagoon at a point where the two bodies of water approach each other 

 quite closely. It is nearly twelve feet deep where the ground is most elevated and, as 

 only about four feet of this space is occupied by the water, the remainder forms perpen- 

 dicular banks. There is but little soil in this portion of Florida, the underlying strata being 

 coquena, a substance which is composed of fragments of shells cemented together by press- 

 ure. When first dug, this rock, as it is called, is soft and crumbling, but upon being 

 exposed, becomes nearly as hard as any limestone. Thus a crust was formed over the 

 surface which could not be penetrated without the aid of an iron instrument, yet there 

 were a dozen holes made by Kingfishers in the banks of the canal. These must have been 

 excavated years before when the coquena was soft, but, at least, one was occupied during 

 my visit as I frequently saw the birds emerge from it, and they exhibited great solicitude 

 whenever I approached. Although I could not ascertain for a certainty, as it would have 

 required considerable labor to penetrate to the nest, I judged that they had eggs as early 

 as the last week in March. 



The Kingfishers are solitary birds, even after the young arc out they do not accom- 

 pany their parents long. They arc fed for the first few days after leaving the nest but they 

 soon learn to fish for themselves and then they disperse about the country. These birds re- 

 main quite late in Massachusetts, rarely one will be seen in the winter if the season chance 

 to be mild. They are more frequently found then in Pennsylvania, and occur regularly be- 

 low this point, consequently are constantly resident in the South. 



ORDER III, CAPRIMULGI. GOAT-SUCKERS. 



Sternum, with two wide marginal indentations. Bill, short, with a wide and deep gape, 

 and with more or less bristles at the base. The plumage is soft. 



The wings are long and pointed. The tail lias ten feathers, two less than in the pre- 

 ceding order, and is of varying form. The feet are small with the upper face of the tarsus 

 leathered on its basal portion. The anterior toes are webbed at the base and the number 

 of bones are not normal, the inner having three and each of the others, four. The eyes 

 are large as the birds are, more ar less, nocturnal in habit. 



