36 DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL ANIMALS.—CLASS II. AVES. 
the fish between its mandibles, till it has fairly grasped it by the tail; then, 
by striking smartly its head three or four times against the branch, ends its 
struggles, reverses its position, and swallows it whole. Quiet, secluded 
nooks, seldom disturbed by the intrusion of any save the ‘honest angler ;’ 
sheltered spots of the river, margined with alders and willows; mill-dams, 
surrounded by tranquil, pastoral scenery, are the favorite haunts of this 
bird. Its mate is its only companion, and both labor assiduously in the 
support of their young. The place chosen for incubation is the bank of the 
river, where it is steep or overhanging, and here it either constructs or ap- 
propriates to itself a burrow, two or three feet in extent, bearing diagonally 
upwards. It is said to select not unfrequently the old burrow of a water- 
rat, but of this we are not convinced. At all events, we have seen the holes 
of the Kinefisher half way down the steep and perfectly perpendicular face 
of banks, which the water-rat could not have made, and which, we have no 
doubt, were the work of the birds themselves. At the end of the gallery is 
a little chamber, and here, without making any nest, the female lays her 
egos, from five to seven in number, and of a clear, pinky white. While 
engaged in the work of incubation, the female is supplied by her industrious 
mate ; and as the fish-bones and scales are disgorged (for, like owls, the King- 
fisher recasts the indigestible parts of its food), a circle of these rejectanea 
surrounds the eggs, which, after the young are hatched, is greatly increased, 
and hence has arisen the supposition —that of pellets of fish-bones is the nest 
composed. The young are clamorous for food, uttering an incessant cry : 
they soon acquire their brilliant plumage, and, when able to leave their 
abode, follow their parents, and, resting on a branch in some lonely retreat, 
tax the industry of their parents. They are, however, soon able to fish for 
themselves. 
“The Kingfisher performs a sort of limited migration. When winter sets 
in, and drives the fish from the shallows to deep and sheltered bottoms, freezes 
the mill-dams, or coats with ice the sluggish basin, worked out by the riv- 
er’s current in rich alluvial soil, these birds wander from the interior to the 
coast, and frequent the mouths of rivulets, entering large, navigable rivers, 
dikes near the sea, and similar places, especially on the southern portion of 
our island.” 
Famtry Merorip®. Brer-EaATers. 
Mr. Swainson is of opinion that the Meropide, or Bee-eaters, succeed the 
swallows, and says of the Werops apiaster, that it annually visits Italy in 
flocks of twenty or thirty, and may be seen skimming over the vineyards 
and olive plantations with a flight much resembling the swallow, though 
more direct and less rapid. 
The common Bee-eater (Merops apiuster) is an example of the family. 
