THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS, 
83 
Stone near the brink, and when they perceive a small 
fish, they take a spring of several feet upwards, and 
then drop from that height. 
The kingfisher flies but little, and then just above 
the surface of the water, gliding swiftly, either up or 
down the stream, — sometimes balancing itself over 
the water in pursuit of the many small shining beetles, 
which are seen swimming swiftly in a circle ; as on 
these also it feeds. 
It is said that this bird can boast the plumage of 
the peacock, with the shadings of the humming-bird. 
It likewise exhibits the bill of the crane, and the 
short legs of the swallow ; its breadth is eleven, and 
length seven inches, the beak an inch and a half in 
length, and the tail very short. For its size, it is one 
of the most rapacious of the feathered race ; and yet 
this clumsy, deformed-looking little creature was, in 
days of superstition, almost worshipped. Innumer- 
able are the ancient tales, fabulous stories, and poetic 
effusions, that he is made to figure in. 
Pliny tells us that this bird is most common in the 
seas of Sicily; that it rises only for a few days, and 
then in the depth of winter ; and, during that period, 
the mariners might sail in full security ; for which 
