THE KINGFISHER. 



50 



All who are fond of anrfin!?, or of walkiu" by the side of 

 streams, must have noticed the Kingfisher as it sits motionless 

 on a stone or overhanging branch, peering eagerly into the water 

 beneath, and watching the fish as they pass and repass its place 

 of vantage. Brilliant in colour though the bird may be, its 

 azure back and red belly seldom betray it except to a practised 



i^^" # 





KINGFISHER. 



eye, so immovable is its attitude. Suddenly, down it drops into 

 the water, splashes furiously for a few seconds, emerges with a 

 small fish in its mouth, and then returns to land. Sometimes it 

 seeks again the perch from which it descended, and then, throw- 

 ing in the air the fish, which has all the while been held across the 

 beak, catches it dexterously head downwards, swallows it with a 



