48 OUR SOUTHERN BIRDS 



size can go down in this manner, but frogs, cray- 

 fish, and some aquatic insects are also eaten. 

 The scales, fins, bones, and other indigestible 

 portions are afterward cast up in pellets, as is 

 the custom with Owls. 



Minnows and suckers, and other small fish of 

 no special value, are those most frequently taken 

 by the Kingfisher along the streams and rivers 

 which are his usual home. But on the shores of 

 trout streams or of artificial lakes which are 

 stocked with valuable fish he is considered quite 

 a nuisance, and for this reason is not protected 

 by law. 



In spite of this his brilliant color and unusual 

 shape, his interesting ways and good disposition, 

 make him one of our most attractive and best 

 known birds. Kingfishers have always been 

 favorites with all peoples the world over; and 

 even hunters and fishermen are not eager to take 

 a shot at them. 



WILD TURKEY 



Any one who has followed the trail of the 

 turkey through its native woods, or who has made 

 the acquaintance of some lustrous purple-legged 

 baron hatched from a wild egg and raised in a 

 poultry yard, will not grudge this species the 

 phrase that has often been applied to it — 

 "noblest of American birds." An appreciative 



