ALCEDINID.E — THE KINGFISHERS. -JOS 



The result of tlio eviduiice thus given seems ti) lie tliat the holes the 

 Kiiij^'tisliers iimkc' are not loss tliiui four nor more tliiiu fifteen feet in 

 length ; tluit some are ])erfectly straiglit, while some, just before their 

 termination, turn to the right, and otliers to tlie left ; and that all have, 

 at or near tlie terminus, an enlarged spaee in whieli the eggs are deposited. 

 Here the eggs are usually laid on the bare sand, there being very rarely, if 

 evei', any attempt to construet a nest. The use of hay, dry grass, and feath- 

 ers, spoken of by tiie ohler writers, d(;es not appear to ue eontirmed by more 

 recent testimony. Yet it is ipute possible that in certain situations the u.se 

 of dry nuiterials may be resorted to to protect the eggs I'rom a too damj) 

 soil. 



The i>lace diosen for the excavation is not always near water. In the 

 sj)ring of IS'io 1 found the nest of a Kinglisher in a bank by the side tf the 

 carriage path on Mount Washington, more than a mile from any water. It 

 was a shallow excavation, made that season, and eontained fresh eggs the 

 latter i)art of May. The food of tin; ]>air was taken m^ar tlu' dam of a saw- 

 mill on Veabody liiver. In another instance a i)air of Kiuglishers made 

 their abode in a sand-bank in the midst of the village of llingham, witliin 

 two rods of the main street, and withiua few feet of a dwelling, and not in 

 tlu! near vicinity of water. Here the eontidence they displayed was not 

 misjilaced. They were ]»rotected, and tlieir singular habits carefully and 

 curiously watched. During the day they were (cautious, reticent, and rarely 

 seen, but during the night they seenu'd to be ])assing back and forth contin- 

 ually, the return of each parent being announced by a loud rattling cry. 

 Later in the season, when the young required constant, attention, these noc- 

 turnal noises seemed nearly incessant, and became almost a nuisance to the 

 fann'ly. 



The Kingfisher, having once selected a situation for its nest, is very 

 tenacious of it, and rarely forsakes it unless compelled to by too great 

 annoyances. They will submit to be robbed tinu^ after time, and still 

 return to the same r,]mt aiul renew their attempts. They are devoted to 

 their young, exhibit great solicitude if their safety is threatened, and will 

 sutler themselves to be taken fn»m their nest rather than leave it, and 

 innuediately return to it again. 



Mr. Dall observed a male bird of this species digging other holes in the 

 bank near his nest, apparently for amusement or occui)ation. They were 

 never more than two feet in hnigth and about eight inches in diameter. He 

 seemed to abandon them as soon ao made, though seen to retire into one to 

 eat a fish he had captured. 



The eggs are usiially six, rarely seven, in number, and are of a heautifully 

 clear crystal whiteness. They arc^ very nearly spherical in shajie, and meas- 

 ure 1.31 by l.UO inches. 



