229 



Fig. 195. They often grabbed and bit at one another. 



perfect lock step as though controlled by one mind or 

 master. 



Little kingfishers do not seem to know fear until after 

 they have made their first flight. Housed in as thev are, thev 

 have no chance to see what goes on in the outer world and, 

 if a man happens along, takes them out of their nest and 

 groups them on a rock or branch, they take it just as a mat- 

 ter of course, as though it were something that ought to hap- 

 pen. After they have made their maiden flight, however, 

 they object to being handled and will sometimes bite sav- 

 agely. 



Their parents feed them for more than a week after they 

 leave the nest, but all the time their wings are getting 

 stronger and stronger so that soon they can hover over the 

 water and pounce on little fish, just as their parents do. 



