BELTED KINGSFISHER. 393 



of our northern rivers becomes frozen, the Kingsfisher, instead of skim- 

 ming closely over the surface that no longer aUows it to supply itself 

 with food, passes high above the tallest trees, and tiakes advantage of 

 every short cut which the situation of the river afiPords. By this means it 

 soon reaches a milder climate. This is also frequently the case, when it 

 seems tired of the kind of fish that occurs in a lake, and removes to another 

 in a direct line, passing over the forests, not unfrequently by a course of 

 twenty or thirty miles towards the interior of the country. Its motions 

 when on %ving consist of a series of flaps, about five or six in number, fol- 

 lowed by a direct gUde, without any apparent undulation. It moves in 

 the same way when flying closely over the water. 



If, in the course of such excursions, the bird passes over a small pool, 

 it suddenly checks itself in its career, poises itself in the air, like a Spar- 

 row-hawk or Kestril, and inspects the water beneath, to discover whether 

 there may be fishes in it suitable to its taste. Should it find this to be 

 the case, it continues poised for a few seconds, dashes spirally headlong 

 into the water, seizes a fish, and alights on the nearest tree or stump, 

 where it swallows its prey in a moment. 



The more usual range of the Belted Kingsfisher, however, is confined 

 to the rivers and creeks that abound throughout the United States ; aU 

 of which, according to the seasons, are amply supphed with various 

 fishes, on the fry of which this bird feeds. It follows their course up to 

 the very source of the small rivulets ; and it is not unusual to hear the 

 hard, rapid, rattUng notes of oiu* Kingsfisher, even amongst the murmur- 

 ing cascades of our higher mountains. When the bird is found in such 

 sequestered situations, well may the angler be assured that trout is abun- 

 dant. Mill-ponds are also favourite resorts of the Kingsfisher, the usual 

 calmness of the water in such places permitting it to discover its prey 

 with ease. As the freshets are proportionally less felt on the adjoining 

 shores, the holes dug in the earth or sand by this species, in which it de- 

 posits its eggs, are generally found in places not far from a mill worked 

 by water. 



I have laid open to my Aaew several of these holes, in different situa- 

 tions and soils, and have generally found them to be formed as follows. 

 The male and female, after having fixed upon a proper spot, are seen 

 clinging to the bank of the stream in the manner of Woodpeckers. 

 Their long and stout bills are set to work, and as soon as the hole has 

 acquired a certain depth, one of the birds enters it, and scratches out the 



