90 PEARLS AND PEBBLES. 



fowl, meanwhile, pop down once more upon the bosom 

 of the lake, and are soon flirting and splashing the 

 sparkling water over back and wings as if no enemy 

 had ever disturbed them or robbed them of one of their 

 number. 



THE BELTED KINGFISHER.* 



This bird visits Ontario in April or May, and may be 

 seen on the banks of all the lonely lakes and rivers. It 

 has not the brilliant plumage of the European bird, and 

 is by no means as graceful in form. Its note is a very 

 unpleasant one, a loud quick rattling cry uttered as it 

 skims along the borders of lake or stream, a solitary 

 object seeking its sustenance from the waters, or, it 

 may be, procuring food for its young brood or the 

 mother bird on the nest. 



The dusky white ring about the neck is a marked 

 feature in the bird. The bluish grey of the feathers is 

 barred with black on the wings and tail; hence its name, 

 " Belted Kingfisher." It builds no nest, but the female 

 bird deposits her eggs in the enlarged end of a tunnel 

 dug in a sand-bank. 



It stays late with us and does not seem to feel the 

 cold. It is only when the frost has driven the fish to 

 seek shelter in the deeper waters, and the belted bird 

 can no longer obtain the requisite food, that he flies 

 south. 



Ccryle Alcyon (Linn.). 



