100 THE BIRDS OF CALCUTTA. 



always plentiful. In anotter way the Kingfisher 

 is better off in the East, in that it is not much perse- 

 cuted by man, although even here far too many are 

 killed for their feathers. But it is not relentlessly 

 hunted down here as it is in England ; presumably 

 because bright birds are more numerous and destruc- 

 tive fools with guns less so. So our little halcyon is 

 as tame as a robin, and all the details of his daily life 

 may be watched. He is a great believer in " spheres 

 of influence," and seems to. require a large tank all to 

 himself ; for if I saw another bird besides our usuat 

 resident at the Museum tank, there was apt to be an 

 amount of tail-cocking and wing-drooping going on, 

 which argued matrimony in prospect, and hence the 

 tolerance of a stranger is explained. Where the 

 burrow, in which their pinky white eggs are deposited 

 in due season, may be, I do not know ; but it is not 

 surprising that it should be some Uttle distance off, 

 for Kingfishers often nest some distance away from 

 water. The haK-fledged young are funny little 

 things, for their feathers grow to some length before 

 bursting their " sheaths, so that the resulting 

 appearance rather suggests a miniature porcupine. 

 Moreover, they rival the Hibernian of fiction in their 

 ability to " advance backward," a useful accom- 

 plishment to dwellers in holes. They fledge off into 

 a plumage not much inferior in brilliance to that of 



