156 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



out from the lower branches, and watched a Kingfisher 

 skim across the meadow, rising with a piping whistle over 

 the distant hedge." 



Fish, two or three or four inches in length — roach 

 and the like — are its usual food, but now and then 

 a greedy desire for a larger prize has led to tragic 

 consequences ! Mr. J. G. Wood mentions having come 

 across an instance of a Kingfisher that had been choked 

 in trying to swallow a bull-head (fish), and Quekett 

 tells of another case where the fatal dainty was a young 

 dabchick ! 



To see a Kingfisher sitting motionless, as is its habit, 

 on some post or branch or stone, above and close to the 

 water, watching till a fish of the right sort comes near 

 enough, and then plunging beak foremost into the depths, 

 is to see one of the prettiest and most interesting sights of 

 the countryside. 



Having made its capture, the little blue fisherman flies 

 up to its perch, the shining drops streaming off its feathers, 

 and sets about killing its silvery and very lively victim. 

 " I have often watched this process," says Mr. John Lea, 

 " and on every occasion it has been performed in the same 

 manner. Holding the fish firmly in its beak, crosswise, the 

 bird gives its captive two or three quick bites, jerking it 

 sideways a little after each one so as to injure it in a 

 difl'erent place every time. Then, with a vigorous move- 

 ment of the neck, it beats the fish's head against the rock 

 or bough on which it is perched and so stuns it ; there is 

 more biting, and again two or three sharp blows ; and with 

 a dexterous jerk the fish is brought lengthwise into the 

 beak and swallowed." 



That is the description of a close observer. He also 

 reminds us that the fish is always gulped down head first, 



