BELTED KINGFISHER. 349 



otten seen in maritime districts, where it obtains much of its food from 

 salt water. It is a very unsociable bird, and rarely more than one is seen 

 at a time, even in the breeding-season. Each pair seem to have their 

 recognized beat and favourite perching-places, from which all intruders 

 are jealously driven off. They are most frequently seen sitting on some 

 convenient stump, rock, or other "coign of 'vantage," eagerly on the 

 look-out for prey in the water below. Swift-flowing streams, particularly 

 those having hard clayey perpendicular banks, are said by Wilson to be 

 the favourite haunts of this bird. Its flight is rapid, and it passes along 

 the winding stream a little distance above the water, sometimes pausing to 

 hover for a moment with rapidly-beating wings above some school of fry, 

 and then perching for a little while on a dead branch or some overhanging 

 bough, where it sits glancing here and there, scanning closely the turbulent 

 flood, or preening its plumage after a successful plunge. In the non- 

 breeding-season the Belted Kingfisher often wanders far in search of food, 

 and is said to pass from one stream to another in a direct line, flying over 

 the intermediate forests. Its flight is performed by a -series of rapid beats, 

 followed by a smooth gliding motion. 



The usual note of the Belted Kingfisher, uttered when the bird is dis- 

 turbed or flying from place to place, or when about to plunge into the water 

 after a fish, is a very singular one, resembling, according to Mr. Gosse, the 

 word churr, but likened by most American ornithologists to the noise made 

 by a watchman^s rattle. It is said to utter this weird harsh cry at all hours 

 of the day and night, especially the latter during the breeding-season, and 

 whenever it returns to its nest with food for its young or sitting mate. 



I found the Belted Kingfisher very common at Millwaukee. On the 

 shore of the lake at the foot of the bluff there was a wooden break- 

 water and a pier. A pair of these birds were almost always to be seen, 

 generally perched on the wooden edge of the pier. They sat very upright, 

 almost like a Guillemot, with the tail flat on the ground. I never saw 

 them walk or rim. However short a distance they wanted to go, they 

 seemed always to fly. The flight is very different from that of our King- 

 fisher, more like that of a Nutcracker or a Jay. Their wings are powerful, 

 and they can fly deliberately. They do not fly as straight as our species, 

 but the flight can scarcely be called undulatory. They are very fond of 

 chasing each other, and then double and turn with great rapidity, usually 

 uttering a harsh grating scream. Sometimes they hover over the water 

 like a Tern. Sometimes they plunge after fish, appearing to strike the 

 water at an angle, and occasionally disappear altogether beneath the 

 surface for a second or two. On the banks of the rivers or in the park by 

 the margin of the lake I saw them watch for fish from the branch of a 

 tree. If a stump is near the water they often choose it as a perch. They 

 are not shy, and can very easily be shot. 



