NEST OF THE KINGFISHER 181 



" Ornithologists are divided in opinion as to whether the fish-bones found in the 

 cavity in which the Kingfisher deposits its eggs are to be considered in the light of 

 a nest, or as merely the castings from the bird during the period of incubation. Some 

 are disposed to consider these bones as entirely the castings and faeces of the young 

 brood of the year before they quit the nest, and that the same hole being frequented for 

 a succession of years, a great mass is at length formed ; while others believe that they 

 are deposited by the parents as a platform for the eggs, constituting, in fact, a nest ; 

 in which latter view I fully concar, and the following are my reasons for so doing : — 



On the 18th of the past month of April, during one of my fishing excursions on the 

 Thames, I saw a hole in a precipitous bank, which I felt assured was a nesting-place of 

 the Kingfisher, and on passing a spare top of my fly-rod to the extremity of the hole, a 

 distance of nearly three feet, I brought out some freshly-cast bones of fish, convincing me 

 that I was right in my surmise. On a subsequent day, the 9th of May, I again visited 

 the spot with a spade, and after removing nearly two feet square of the turf, dug down to 

 the nest without disturbing the entrance-hole or the passage which led to it. Here I 

 found four eggs placed on the usual layer of fish-bones ; all of these I removed with care, 

 and then filled up the hole, beating the earth down as hard as the bank itself, and 

 replacing the sod on the top in order that barge-horses passing to and fro might not put a 

 foot in the hole. A fortnight afterwards the bird was seen to leave the hole again, 

 and my suspicion was awakened that she had taken to her old breeding-quarters a second 

 time. 



The first opportunity I had of again visiting this place, which was exactly twenty-one 

 days from the date of my former exploration and taking the eggs, I again passed the top 

 of my fly-rod up the hole, and found not only that the hole was of the former length, but 

 that the female was within. I then took a large mass of cotton wool from my collecting- 

 box, and stuffed it to the extremity of the hole, in order to preserve the eggs and nest 

 from damage during my again laying it open from above. On removing the sod and 

 digging down as before, I came upon the cotton wool, and beneath it a well-formed nest 

 of fish-bones, the size of a small saucer, the walls of which were fully half an inch thick, 

 together with eight beautiful eggs and the old female herself This nest and eggs I 

 removed with the greatest care, and I now have the pleasure of exhibiting it to the 

 Society, before its transmission to the British Museum ; the proper resting-place of 

 so interesting a bird's nest. This mass of bones then, weighing 700 grains, had been cast 

 up and deposited by the bird, or the bird and its mate, besides the unusual number of 

 eight eggs, in the short space of twenty-one days. 



To gain anything like an approximate idea of the number of fish that had been 

 taken to form this mass, the skeleton of a minnow, their usual food, must be carefully 

 made and weighed, and this I may probably do upon some future occasion. I think we 

 may now conclude, from what I have adduced, that the bird purposel}* deposits these 

 bones as a nest ; and nothing can be better adapted, as a platform, to defend the eggs 

 from the damp earth." 



The Kingfisher, if unmolested, soon learns to be familiar with man, and has no 

 hesitation in carrying on the daily affairs of its life without heeding the near presence of 

 a human observer. I have known a Kingfisher to sit upon a projecting stone that over- 

 hung a stream running at the foot of a garden, and to permit the owners of the garden to 

 watch its proceedings without exhibiting any alarm. If managed properly, this interesting 

 bird will so far extend its confidence to man as to become partially domesticated, speedily 

 rivalling the robin or the sparrow in the bold familiarity of its manners. One such bird, 

 that was tamed by a friend, owed its domestication to the loss of its parents. 



Three young Kingfishers were seen sitting in a row upon a branch of a tree close to a 

 stream, and drew the attention of their future guardian by their constant wailing after 

 food. Various kinds of food were accordingly procured for the poor desolate birds ; but as 

 the right sort of diet was not obtained for some days, two of the young birds died. The 

 third, however, survived, and lived for a considerable time, coming regularly for his food, 

 and receiving it at the hands of his protector, but never venturing into the house. In 



