OSKOMENOS the kingfisher is an 

 outcast among the birds. I think they 

 regard him as a half-reptile, who has not 

 yet climbed high enough in the bird scale to 

 deserve recognition ; so they let him severely 

 alone. Even the goshawk hesitates before 

 taking a swoop at him, not knowing whether 

 the gaudy creature is dangerous or only 

 uncanny. I saw a great hawk once drop like 

 a bolt upon a kingfisher that hung on quiver- 

 ing wings, rattling softly, before his hole in 

 the bank. But the robber lost his nerve at 

 the instant when he should have dropped his 



