THE AMERICAN OSPREY. 



TO REMOVE INK STAINS FROM 

 EGGS. 



Take dilute nitric acid, and carefully 

 wipe the egg with a piece of felt dipped 

 in the solution ; or, dissolve a small quan- 

 tity of oxalic acid in water and apply as 

 above. 



THE BELTED KINGFISHER. 



The Common or Belted Kingfisher is 

 familiar all over North America. He is 

 about thirteen inches long. His back, 

 and a belt across his breast, are blue ; the 

 under parts, and a spot before each eye, 

 white; the tail black barred with white. 

 The head wears a long crest. His sud- 

 den scream is shrill and harsh, quite like 

 the sound of a watchman's rattle ; one 

 would think not well adapted to lull waves, 

 or anything else, to rest. The kingfisher 

 sits quietly for hours on the branch of 

 some tree which overhangs the water, and 

 then, with a loud scream, descends, and 

 quickly rises again, bearing a fish in his 

 beak. This he takes b ac k to his perch, 

 batters smartly against the branch, and 

 swallows. Then he watches for another, 

 and so keeps at work till he he has eaten 

 enough. His sight is very keen, and he 

 finds his prey even in the turbid >apids of 

 a waterfall. He knows, too, how to take 

 a position which will make the best of the 

 sunshine. 



One sunny afternoon the writer was ob- 

 serving a kingfisher, which sat upon a 

 naked limb of an oak, overlooking the 

 water. For a long time the bird saw 

 nothing, and did not move. Presently he 

 left his perch, and flew along the margin 

 of the lake, rather in the direction of the 

 sun. After going a few rods, he stopped, 

 turned his back to the sun, and for a few 

 seconds stood balanced on his beating 

 win^s. and looked intently into the water. 



Then he turned, went on a few rods fur- 

 ther, again turned his back to the sun, 

 repeated his careful gaze, and went on 

 again. At the third and fourth pause, he 

 spied a fish, and dropped upon it like an 

 arrow. At each pause he placed himself 

 in the air, over the water, so that the re" 

 flections from the surface would be turned 

 away from him. 



His flight consists of five or six flaps, 

 followed by a glide. When he pauses, he 

 seems to stand upon his feet and beat the 

 air with his wings, as a swimmer "treads" 1 

 water. 



The bird occupies the same nest year 

 after year. Audubon tried to catch one in 

 its burrow. He first set a net over the 

 opening, but the bird crept out between 

 the meshes and the earth. Next he found 

 the bird in its hole, and thrust a stick into 

 the opening, thinking that he could block- 

 ade it until morning; but the kingfisher 

 scratched his way round the stick, and so 

 raised the blockade. 



THE LEAST FLYCATCHER. 



This bird, which is rather rare in most 

 localities, is very common here ; building 

 usually in old orchard trees or small sap- 

 lings. The eggs are four in number of a 

 cream white when fresh and turning to a 

 dull white when incubated. They average 

 about .62 by .50. Tha nest is composed 

 of old moss, cotton, strings and fine grass, 

 and lined with feathers and a small quanti- 

 ty of horsehair. It is usually placed at 

 the extremety of an old limband measures 

 about 3 by 2 inches outside and 2 by i'| 

 inches inside. They begin to breed here 

 about May 15th, and raise two or three 

 broods during the season. 



R. W. F., Bristol, Conn. 



The cedar waxwing is sometimes called 

 "cherry bird.'* 



