THE KINGFISHER 135 



the fish near the surface, the bird uses its wings 

 all the time, and swoops down on its prey like 

 a surface-feeding gull. In these circumstances 

 the flight is continued for the short time that 

 the bird is under the water. Again, the king- 

 fisher often leaves its perch and hovers over the 

 water like a kestrel. The tail is depressed, and 

 the head is bent forward so that the beak rests 

 on the breast. Suddenly the bird tips up and 

 drops like a stone on its prey. This appears to 

 be the most successful method of fishing. 



As soon as the kingfisher, sitting on a 

 branch, sees a fish below, it immediately 

 becomes alert, all its feathers are tightened, and 

 it anxiously watches the approach of its prey. 

 This attitude is illustrated in the photograph 

 opposite page 132. The second illustration on 

 this plate shows the flight of the bird into 

 shallow water. 



This photograph was taken at the exposure 

 of one-thousandth part of a second, and the 

 expanded wing of the kingfisher is visible in the 

 centre of the splash. 



The next two illustrations show the same 

 bird back on the bough with a three-inch 

 rainbow trout, seized by the head. The fish was 



