Miscellaneous. 



75 



fractures in the long bones ; the legs were greatly distorted and the 

 spine crooked. 



I am unable to account for the origin of the disease in this bird ; 

 it had been reared with several other young Hawks, and had lived 

 chiefly on young unfledged birds, mice, &c. &c. 



The Kingfisher. — Of this beautiful, but stupid bird, I have had 

 nine living specimens ; seven young and two adult. 



On April 14, 1837, a boy brought me a living female Kingfisher, 

 which he had taken on the nest in the act of laying an egg, which I 

 found on dissection covered with the shell and ready for expulsion. 

 1 immediately proceeded with him to the spot where the nest was 

 found, for the purpose of examining its structure. It was formed in 

 a hole about a foot in depth, which had been excavated in a bank 

 overhanging a narrow brook. It was concealed from view by a tuft 

 of long grass ; but as the male bird was constantly sitting on a branch 

 near the nest, the accumulation of faeces led to the discovery of the 

 place of its concealment. 



The nest itself was large and of peculiar structure, being composed 

 exclusively of the exuvise of the small fish it had devoured, mixed 

 with fins, scales, &c, and the skins and legs of a little insect some- 

 what resembling a shrimp, which adheres to stones, &c. in running 

 water. 



Of this substance there was about sufficient to fill a pint cup. I 

 preserved it, and possess some at the present time. The interior ca- 

 vity is small : the eggs, of which I have four, are white, round, of 

 moderate size, and six or seven in number. 



In the spring of 1837, a boy brought me four young Kingfishers, 

 half-fledged, which he had just taken from a nest near the same 

 spot. I kept them two months, feeding them exclusively on fish, and 

 washing them in lukewarm water daily. Under this treatment they 

 thrived in a remarkable manner, and the plumage became as clear 

 and brilliant as in a state of nature. They were indeed generally 

 admired, but I was at length compelled to give them away on ac- 

 count of the great care and time I was obliged to devote to them. 



The young Kingfisher is a very stupid and inactive bird. It will 

 stand in the same posture one or two hours without moving a muscle, 

 and its enjoyments seem concentrated in the narrow circle of eating 

 and sleeping. On touching the extremity of the bill it opens its 

 mouth, and after swallowing the morsel gravely closes it again, and 

 looks round with laughable slowness for a second mouthful. It will 

 swallow without inconvenience a minnow or loach half its own 

 weight, and in the course of the day will devour ten or twelve such. 

 It is very tame, readily standing on the finger to be fed. It casts 

 up the bones and fins of the fishes in the form of a pellet like the 

 Owl and Hawk, and of these pellets its nest is formed. The adult 

 Kingfisher is very intractable, and refuses to eat when in captivity. 

 On the whole, the Kingfisher is only tolerable on account of the 

 beauty of its plumage. 



Charles Coward. 



Devizes, July 8, 1840. 



