237 



33irtr Eccentricities in I3crfcgsf)to. 



By Arthur Cox, M.A. 



F all the birds with whose appearance and habits we 

 are acquainted, perhaps the very last we should expect 

 to find dwelling in the middle of a town is the king- 

 fisher {alcedo ispida). Here, however, in my own garden, in 

 Derby, a king-fisher has made its home for the past twelve 

 months. The garden covers about an acre of ground, and is 

 surrounded on all sides by walls which separate it from the build- 

 ings of a manufactory, the town street, and a field respectively ; 

 the nearest point of river is at least two miles off, and anything 

 like a retired situation on the bank of river or stream is very 

 much further away. 



Considerable space in my garden is occupied by a reservoir of 

 water for the supply of engines in the adjacent works, and this 

 reservoir is plentifully stocked with small carp, golden and other- 

 wise. The facilities for obtaining his daily food doubtless supply 

 the reason for his remaining here, though what the king-fisher 

 could have been doing in the town at all when he first discovered 

 my pond I am at a loss to imagine. 



For the present here he is, and seems quite disposed to remain. 

 I see him daily, perched on the overhanging bough of a thorn 

 tree, or squatting on the edge of a rough plank bridge which is 

 thrown across one part of the water. There is no " cover " of 

 any sort, or possibility of his getting out of sight. When disturbed, 



