ALCEDINID^. 115 



name from a curious habit it lias of tn'i^tiiig its head and erectin": the 

 feathers on the crown, giving it a ver}- singular appearance. In Wales 

 one of its names is the " Cuckoo's Mate," hut it has nothing to do with 

 the Cuckoo beyond arriving in this country about the same time as that 

 herald of the spring. The plumage of the Wryneck is sery compact and 

 silky, of different shades of chocolate-brown and grey, much diversified 

 by wavy bars of darker colour and arrow-head markings. Although of 

 such inconspicuous shades it is a very handsome bird. The old birds 

 make a hissing noise Avhcn surprised in their nest, erecting their crest 

 and writhing their necks. The nest is generally in a hole in a tree, 

 and in other parts of England we have taken its shining white eggs 

 from a pollard willow by the side of a stream. We have never known 

 an instance of its neat in Devonshire, although in Somerset it is not 

 uncommon throughout the summer and breeds regularly. One hot summer's 

 afternoon, when we had to wait a long time for our train at a small station in 

 West Somerset, we were much entertained by watching a young Wryneck, 

 our only companion on the ]datform, as it searched all the white-painted 

 railings one after 'the other for any small insects lodged upon them. It 

 was quite indifferent to our presence, coming within a few inches of 

 where we stood. 



Suborder A NIS O D A C T Y L^.. 

 Family ALCEDINIDiE. 

 Kingfisher. Alcedo isjjida, Liun. 



Resident and not uncommon about rivers, streams, and ponds, both in 

 the north and south of the county, but rare in the central part. Breeds. 



An extensive immigration takes place early in September, so that the 

 Kingfisher is most plentiful in the autumn and winter months. At that 

 period of the year many frequent the estuaries of our rivers, and are fre- 

 quently seen on the sea-shore both in summer and winter, especially at 

 lierry Head (.1. C. B., Nat. Hist. S. Devon, p. 412). Severe seasons are very 

 destructive to this bird. In the winter of 1S45-4G we saw five specimens 

 which Were found dead with their feet frozen to the gunnel of a boat moored 

 in the Exe off a marsh-bank near T()i)shijm (W. D'U.). Mr. ])olitho, of 

 Plymouth, had sixty-seven brought to him in twenty years (1852-1872). 

 Kingfishers were numerous at Plymouth in the winters of 1852-5;}, 

 1853-54, 1858, and 1862 ; as they always are when thu weather is 

 severe. In November 1873 they were very plentiful on tho coast 

 and up the estuaries, and many were almost daily brought to tlio 

 bird-stuffers' shojjs. One man boasted of having killed thirteen within 

 a few weeks. Again, in November 1870, many were seen on the eimst, 

 whilst in the autumn of 1880 none(jccurivfl. Tliey were again jilcnliliil in 

 the autumn and December of 1883, and in January 1885 tliirty or forty 



