THE BIRDS OF THE GREEN LANES. 



and the nests are generally made near the top, antf 

 are big enough for a man to sit in. 



In reclining on the hanks of the tarn or river, it 

 is possible you were pleasantly surprised by a 

 flash of colour for which you could not at first 

 account. Your eyes followed it as quickly as they 

 were able, until, when the object as suddenly came 

 to a stop, you discovered it was a Kingfisher cer- 

 tainly the most handsome of our British birds. 

 From the position it has taken up, if you watch it 

 carefully, you soon see it dart rapidly headlong into 

 the shallow water a movement for which it is well 

 adapted through its short feet being placed so fai 

 down the body. Nothing can be more exquisite 

 than the metallic sapphire blue of the wings of this 

 bird. The beak is of course the principal agent in 

 procuring food, and we accordingly find, among the 

 various species of kingfisher, a great modification of 

 this organ. The genus has a wide distribution, and 

 therefore it may also be supposed to possess a com- 

 paratively high geological antiquity these two facts 

 being usually complementary. It is more than 

 likely that you may watch the kingfisher dive five 

 or six times without securing a fish, for this act 

 seems to partake with it very much of the character 

 of a lottery. It has recently been ascertained, 

 however, that on such seemingly fruitless divings 

 it is really hunting for water-beetles. It is ex- 

 ceedingly difficult to tell the sexes of the king- 

 fisher ; and almost equally so to discover its nest, 



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