158 



THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



It is chiefly by the still pools of rivors and brooks that the Kinj^fisher is met with. 

 Although not plentiful in any part of this country, nor any where (jrefjarious, it is 

 genei ally dispersed in England, and occurs in the southern and part of the middle 

 divisi m of Scotland, but has not, I believe, been met with beyond Inverness, for the 

 Kingdshers, so called, of the Xortli, are merely Dippers. It remains uitli us all the 

 year, shifting its station on the streams, and in summer selecting some place having 

 a steep bank, in a hole in which it deposits its eggs. Mr Kenvy Turner states, in 

 Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, Vol. IV. p. 450, that at Bury St. Edmund's 

 in Suifolk, " some boys watched an old one into a hole in the bank of the river Lark, 

 and attempted to capture it on its exit ; but without success in this case. They then 

 with a crooked stick pulled out a portion of the nest, consisting of a few feathers, old 

 dri»id roots, and hay. I subsequently examined the hole," he continues; "■ it was in 

 a low meadow 300 yards east of Northgate Street, and on the bank of a small stream. 

 The entrance to the hole was about three feet from the water, and one foot beneath 

 the level of the meadow. Hole nine inches in diameter, and about five feet in length, 

 straight, and somewhat larger at the end than at the entrance." Various other indi- 

 viduals have alleged that the nest is formed of dry grass, roots, and feathers ; but 

 Montagu gives a different account of it. 



" The hole chosen to build in is always ascending, and generally two or three feet 

 in the bank; at the end is scooped a hollow, at the bottom of which is a quantity of 

 small fish-bones, nearly half an inch thick, mixed in with the earth. This is un- 

 doubtedly the castings of the parent birds, and not of the young, for we have found 

 it even before they have eggs, and have every reason to believe both male and female 

 go to that spot for no other purpose than to yield this matter for some time before 

 the female begins to lay, and then they dry it by the heat of their bodies, as they 

 are frequently known to continue in the hole for hours long before they have eggs. 

 On this disgorged matter the female lays to the number of seven eggs, which are 

 perfectly white and transparent, of a short oval form, weighing about one dram. 

 The hole in which they breed is by no means fouled by the casting? ; but before the 

 young are able to fly it becomes extremely fetid by the fceces of the brood, which is 

 of a very watery nature, and cannot be carried away by the parent birds, as is common 

 with most of the smaller species. In delect of which, instinct has taught them to 

 have the entrance to their habitation ascending, by which means the filthy matter 

 luns off, and may frequently be seen on the outside. We never could observe the 

 uld birds with any thing in their bills when they went in to feed their young; 

 from which it may be concluded they eject from their stomach for that purpose." 



This account of the nest, however, is very improbable; and accordingly Mr Rennio, 

 in his edition of Montagu's Dictionary, doubts its accuracy. " In the bank of a 

 stream at Lee in Kent, we have been acquainted with one of those nests in the same 

 hole for several successive summers, but so far from the exuviee of fish-bones ejected, 

 as is done by all birds of prey, being dried on purpose to form the nest, they are 

 scattered about the floor of the bole in all directions, from its entrance to its termi- 

 nation, without the least order or working up with the earth, and all moist or fetid. 

 That the eggs may by accident be laid upon portions of these fish- bones is highly 

 probable, as the floor is so thickly strewed with them, that no vacant spot might be 

 found, but they assuredly are not by design built up into a nest. The hole is from 

 two to four feet long, sloping upwards, narrow at the entrance, but widening in the 

 interior, in order, perhaps, to give the birds room to turn, and for the same apparent 

 reason the eggs are not placed at the extremity. 1 am not a little sceptical as to its 

 sometimes selecting the old hole of a Water-Rat, which is the deadly enemy to its 

 eggs and young; but it seems to indicate a dislike to the labour of digging. It fre- 

 quents the same hole for a series of years, and will not abandon it, though the nest 

 be repeatedly plundered of the eggs or young." 



The question as to its nestling in a Water-Rat's hole can be decided only by ob- 

 servation. Its bill is certainly adapted for digging into earth or sand, but its feet, 

 one might suppose, would prove very inadequate instruments for scraping out the 

 debris along a tunnel of three or four feet. On the other hand, its hole is often at a 

 greater height from the water than we ever find that of the Water-Bat; in one case 

 it has been seen twelve feet above it ; and all accounts agree in describing it as 

 straight and sloping upwards, whereas the holes of Water-Rats are usually tortuous. 

 It is possible enough that sometimes the Kingfisher may take possession of a Water- 

 Rat's hole, or even that of a Common Rat or Mole, and enlarge it, as the Starling 

 has been known to do, and that it may also dig a hole for itself, hke the Bank Swal- 

 low. At all events, we have certain evidence that the American Kingfisher, Alcedo 

 Alcyon, digs its hole. Mr Audubon states that *'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 sand, 

 earth, or clay, with its feet, striking meanwhile with its bill to extend the depth. 

 The other bird all the while appears to cheer the labourer, and urge it to continue its 

 exertions; and, when the latter is fatigued, takes its place. Thus, by the co-opera- 

 tion of both, the hole is dug to the depth of four, five, or sometimes six feet, in a 

 horizontal direction, at times not more than eighteen inches below the surface of the 

 ground, at others eight or ten feet." 



In the second volume of the Natui'alist, p. 274, Mr Allington gives the following 

 account of it: — '' A friend of mine, while fishing on a small trout stream, near Louth, 

 called the Crake, in the early part of June, observed a Kingfisher with a fish in its 

 mouth, flying several times near his hat with a whirling noise. He watched it until 

 it entered a hole in the bank, the entrance to which was strewed with fishrbones. 

 On digging into the hole (which commenced low down in the bank, and ran upwards 

 in a slanting direction for about two feet), he found the nest, containing seven young 

 birds just hatched. The bottom of the nest was excessively thick, and mixed. up 

 with small bones of the Stickle-back. Its structure, excepting the mixture of fish- 

 bones, was not very unlike that of a Thrush. It crumbled to pieces on being 

 touched, and I could procure no portion worth preserving. Near the nest was ano- 

 ther hole, which had all the appeai-ance «f having been the Kingfisher's last residence, 

 the hones at the entrance being dry and crumbhng ; but in this the parent bird again 

 commenced laying, and on opening the nest six eggs were found on the fragmenls 



of the structure. They were white, and beautifully transparent, showing the yolk 

 through, which gave them a pinkish hue at the larger end. I have now in my col- 

 lection one of the eggs, which, though so transparent, I was surprised to find thicker 

 and stronger than the generality of eggs, and rounder in its form, the circumference 

 being two inches and a half, the length eight-tenths of an inch." 



The flight of the Kingfisher is direct and rapid, performed by quick beats of the 

 wings, and very similar to that of the Dipper, which it, however, excels in speed. 

 The movements of the wings are indeed so rapid that one can scarcely perceive them, 

 and the flight of this bird, the Dipper, Auks, Gudlemots, and other short-winged 

 birds, might induce the closet-naturaUsts to revise their opinions as to flight, founded 

 merely upon the length and breadth of wings ; for a long wing is not always so well 

 adapted for speed as a short one, and a Guillemot can easily outstrip a GuU, Its feet 

 are not adapted for walking or hopping, and therefore it takes its stand on a stone, a 

 stump, a rail, or a branch overhanging the water, waits with patience, and when a 

 minnow or a stickle-bat comes near the surface, darts upon it and secures it. In 

 like manner it sallies forth in pursuit of the larger insects. Although very shy, inso- 

 much that one can very seldom get within shot of it when perched, it does not shun 

 the vicinity of human habitations, but, on the contrary, often breeds at no great dis- 

 tance from them. It does not associate with any other birds, and it is seldom that 

 even two of its own species are seen together. Being highly prized by collectors and 

 others, it is much harassed, and although nowhere plentiful, may be obtained in 

 almost any district to the south of the Forth and Clyde. In some places they leave the 

 larger streams in autumn, and betake themselves to the brooks, so that a person not 

 aware of their habits in this respect migh' suppose them to be migratory. Even in 

 the more northern parts, however, they remain all the year, and many individuals 

 have been shot near Edinburgh in December and January. 



ON THE MOVEMENTS OF THE MOTACILL^ IN SOUTH DEVON. 

 BY J. C. BELLAMY, ESQ. YEALMPTON. 



The Grey Wagtail, Motacilla Boarula, visits us without deviation yearly in the 

 month of September, and remains until the end of March or the first of April, fre- 

 quenting rivers, brooks, spring-heads, and the sea-coast. Some circumstance deter- 

 mines a slight irregularity of a few days, both in their arrival and departure, — most 

 probably it is their food; but in respect of number there is apparently little differ- 

 ence. They seem to come in a body, and attract immediate attention by their lame- 

 ness, and the briskness of tbeir motions. Their retreat, however, is accomplished 

 in a straggling manner : suddenly we lose the bulk of the party, and hear only the 

 twit of a solitary bird or so, on the bank of a river, or at a spring-head ; in a few days 

 these are gone, and we see no more of them for a season. But though I am not able to 

 bear testimony to the fact, this species has been known to remain all summer and 

 breed. In 1831 I saw one frequenting a pond near Tavistock on the second of Sep- 

 tember. This may have been an unusually early arrival, or one of a pair that had 

 stayed through the season. Their chief resorts are rivers and streams, but some re- 

 pair to the sea-coast, and fare with the Pied Wagtail. In haid weather they seem 

 all to frequent the roads, and seek support from the droppings of caltle, frost seeming 

 to cause a general retirement of the insects on which they feed, or sealing down the 

 soil and stones beneath which they harbour. 1 believe that if any precise dates for 

 their arrival and departure could be ventured on, they would be September J6th and 

 April 8th; yet in 1835 I saw a flock arrive at a small village on the sea-coast on 

 Auo^ust 13th. In their retieat also, in the spring preceding, I observed an unusual 

 tardiness, and they disappeared gradually. No phenomena that we know of can en- 

 licrhten us respecting these irregularities, any more than concerning the cause of 

 their migrations : we see that the Pied Wagtail haunts the same situations, feeds 

 similarly, and is content to remain with us the year through ; but some impulse 

 carries the Grey hundreds of miles northward to rear its young. It is now clearly 

 made out that in the spring our flocks retire to the northern counties, it being there 

 a stationary bird also ; but, independently of Selby's authority for this, a paper which 

 I possess, written by a natvn-abst hving at Kendal, talUes so well in its account of the 

 transits of this bird there with its movements in this county, as to have led me to 

 suspect the nature of their retreat before I read Selby's statement. This gentleman, 

 ]Mr Gough, thus writes:. — *' The Grey Wagtad is a partial migrator ; a few remain 

 about the town through the winter, and these are joined by great numbers from the 

 south in ISIarch, when they all retire to the rugged banks of the river Muit to spend 

 the season of incubation." A remarkable feature in the habits and economy of birds 

 is their adaptation of appetite to a variety of food, both as regards one season or 

 time, and as regards various seasons, in which we frequently notice a change in their 

 food. But few of the class confine themselves to one particular species of food, 

 whereas a very large proportion partake of a variety, but still not similar in character. 

 Thus, the Grey Wagtail searches out various insects, and is content to feed on such 

 as are found on the shore, which necessarily must diflFer widely from those inhabiting 

 the sides of rivers, or the streamlets. Very many birds, again, have appetites still more 

 acoommodating, and will devour food quite incongruous. This portion of the economy 

 of the Grey Wagtail permits the extension of the species much more than would 

 otherwise be eflPected, and we see also that it even protects the species to a great ex- 

 tent from death, for if it could not on emergency betake itself to the food afforded by 

 the roads, when frost deprives it of more genial supplies, it must necessarily be the 

 victim of want. We conclude also, that it is this principle of accommodation in the 

 appetite? and digestive powers of birds, and other creatures, which fits and enables 

 them to live in the midst of alterations in their ordinary provender, effected by the 

 operations of man, and winch permits us to avail ourselves of their services in a do- 

 mesticated or reclaimed state, without much trouble or inconvenience, their appetites 

 shortly becoming adapted to an unaccustomed diet. And so, in their habits and actions, 

 we must not fail to note a principle of accommodation of the same description. A little 

 reflection must bring to our minds a thousand alterations in the face of Nature, wherever 

 man has fixed his abode, or extended his domains ; and as, on the one hand, we might a 

 priori imagine the actions ard habits of animals to be as undeviating and determinate 



