﻿flights at the period of migration were forced out of their course by an adverse wind, and 

 thus unwittingly driven to cross the Atlantic. 



From Wilson's well-known work, I have extracted the following remarks, somewhat 

 lengthy, perhaps, but of great interest, as being the first original observations on the 

 habits of this species. 



"Amidst the roar of the cataract, or over the foam of a torrent, he sits perched upon 

 an overhanging bough, glancing his piercing eye in every direction below for his ready- 

 prey, which with a certain circular plunge he sweeps from their native element and 

 swallows in an instant. His voice which is not unlike the twirling of a watchman's 

 rattle, is naturally loud, harsh and sudden; but is softened by the sound of the brawling 

 streams and cascades among which he generally rambles. He courses along the windings 

 of a brook or river, at a small height above the surface, sometimes suspending himself by 

 the rapid action of his wings like certain species of hawks, ready to pounce on the prey 

 below; now and then settling on an old dead limb to reconnoitre. Mill-dams are particu- 

 larly visited by this feathered fisher ; and the sound of his pipe is as well known to the 

 miller as the rattling of his own hopper. Rapid streams with high perpendicular banks, 

 particularly if they be of a hard clayey or sandy nature, are also favorite places of resort 

 for this bird ; not only because in such places the small fish are more exposed to view ; 

 but because those steep and dry banks are the chosen situations for his nest. Into these 

 he digs with bill and claws, horizontally, sometimes to the extent of four and five feet, 

 at the distance of a foot or two from the surface. The few materials he takes in are not 

 always placed at the extremity of the hole ; that he and his mate may have room to turn 

 with convenience. The eggs are five, pure white, and the first brood usually comes out 

 about the beginning of June, or sometimes sooner, according to that part of the country 

 where they reside. On the shores of Kentucky river near the town of Frankfort, I found 

 the female sitting early in March. They are very tenacious of their haunts, breeding for 

 several successive years in the same hole, and do not readily forsake it, even though it be 

 visited." 



" Though the Kingfisher generally remains with us, in Pennsylvania, until the 

 commencement of cold weather, it is seldom seen here in winter ; but returns to us earlv 

 in April. In North and South Carolina, I observed numbers of these birds in the months 

 of February and March. I also frequently noticed them on the shores of the Ohio, in 

 February, as high up as the mouth of the Muskingum." 



Audubon's notes from his ' Ornithological Biography,' are very copious, and I have 

 therefore only made use of such portions as will serve to give a fuller insight into the 

 habits of the species. He says : — 



" The flight of this bird is rapid, and is prolonged according to its necessities, 

 extending at times to considerable distances, in which case it is performed high in the air. 

 When, for instance, the whole course of one of our Northern Rivers becomes frozen, the 

 Kingfisher, instead of skimming closely over the surface that no longer allows it to supply 

 itself with food, passes high over the tallest trees, and takes advantage of every short cut 

 which the situation of the river affords. By this means it soon reaches a milder climate. 

 This is also frequently the case, when it seems tired of the kind of fish that occurs in a 

 lake, and removes to another in a direct line, passing over the forests, not unl'requently 

 by a course of twenty or thirty miles towards the interior of the country. Its motions 

 when on wing consist of a series of flaps, about five or six in number, followed by a direct 

 glide, without any apparent undulation. It moves in the same way when flying closely 

 over the water." 



"If in the course of such excursions, the bird passes over a small pool, it suddenly 

 checks itself in its career, poises itself in the air, like a Sparrow-hawk or Kestril, and 

 inspects the water beneath, to discover whether there may be fishes in it suitable to its 

 taste. Should it find this to be the case, it continues poised for a few seconds, dashes 

 spirally headlong into the water, seizes a fish, and alights on the nearest tree or stump, 

 where it swallows its prey in a moment." 



