THE -klNGFISHEE. 77 



friends in the way of company only, but he explained his mean- 

 ing to be, that the flies about the station would be quite intol- 

 erable if they were not cleared off by the Martins, which are al- 

 ways hawking up and down in front of it ; adding, that even 

 during the few hot days which occurred in the spring before 

 their arrival, the flies were becoming very troublesome. 'Now,' 

 he said, 'we may now and then see one, but that is all.' 



" It was a bright sunny day in July, and the scene was a very 

 lively and interesting one. The mouths of the holes on both 

 sides of the cutting were crowded with young martins — as many 

 perhaps as four or five in each ^sunning their barred white 

 breasts, and waiting to be fed : the telegraph wires formed perch- 

 es, of which advantage was taken by scores of others more ad- 

 vanced in growth, and of old ones reposing after their exertions ; 

 while the air was filled' with others employed in catering for 

 their families. All of a sudden the'yoUng ones retreated into 

 ■ their holes; the wires were deserted, and only a few remained 

 describing distant circles. I thought that a hawk must have 

 made his appearance, but it turned out that the alarm had been 

 caused by two men walking over the heath above, and approach- 

 ing the holes. The young ones in the holes had no doubt felt 

 ^the jar caused by their tread, and those on the wing, who saw 

 them, had probably given warning, by note, to the others perched 

 on the wires, who could not have seen, nor, I should think, heard 

 their approach." 



Although the Kingfisher {Alcedo ispidd) does not excavate 

 the whole of the burrow in which it resides, it does, at all events, 

 alter and arrange a ready-made burrow to suit its own necessi- 

 ties. 



This lovely bird, which is one of the few indigenous British 

 species that can vie with the bright -feathered denizens of the 

 tropics, is happily very plentiful in England, scarcely any stream 

 or lake being without its Kingfishers. 



All who are fond of angling, or of walking 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 color though the bird may be, its azure 

 back and red belly seldom betray it except to a practiced eye, so 

 immovable is its attitude. Suddenly, down it drops into the wa- 



