134 ANIMAL LIFE UNDER WATER 



ten miles on the banks of the Lancashire 

 Hodder. 



In October there is a partial migration, and 

 it is at these times that the kingfisher feeds on 

 crustaceans along the seashore. 



In the autumn of 1917 I saw large numbers 

 of these birds at the mouth of the Wadi Guzzee, 

 before Gaza. They were perched upon rocks 

 along the shore, and every now and then one 

 would leave the rock, hover like a hawk over the 

 breaking surf, and then dive, to come up with 

 food in its bill. 



Shallow water, swarming with small fish, 

 flowed through the last three miles of the Wadi, 

 and here kingfishers perched on the military 

 telephone wires over the water. A wire is a 

 most unsuitable perch for a kingfisher, and 1 each 

 time a bird dived from the telephone wire it 

 appeared to lose its balance and failed to catch 

 its fish. 



The kingfisher catches its fish in several 

 ways. It may dive, with closed wings, straight 

 down off a branch on to a fish immediately 

 below; it may fly at an angle, and close its 

 wings just before it enters the water, like a 

 gannet. When the water is very shallow, or 



