74 
The Belted Kingfisher 
with an upward sweep resumes its former position. Or, during a 
flight over a stream, the keen eye of the Kingfisher may discover a 
fish, when it will stop suddenly in its course and hover with extended 
wings over the spot for a few seconds, then dive with the same ease and 
accuracy as it did from a perch. The Kingfisher also plunges into the 
margin of the sea to catch salt-water fishes. 
The only implement the Kingfisher needs in procuring its food is 
FOOT OF OSPREY FOOT OF KINGFISHER 
its large, powerful, and sharp-edged bill. With this it seizes its prey, 
whether it is a slippery fish beneath the surface of the water or an 
insect on the land. Its feet are so small and weak that they are of no 
service in grasping or holding active prey. 
Contrast the implements of the Kingfisher with those of that other 
great fisher, the Fish Hawk, or Osprey. Were the Osprey to plunge 
head first into the water for its prey, as the Kingfisher does, it would 
never succeed, for its hooked bill is not adapted to catching a fish. 
The Osprey, however, has special implements in its powerful feet ; when 
BILL OF OSPREY 
BILL OF KINGFISHER 
it plunges for a fish, its feet, with their long, sharp claws, are thrown 
downward, and the fish is securely grasped by the talons. It is then 
carried to a perch, where it can be held firmly underfoot and torn to 
pieces by the hooked beak, or it may be carried away to be fed to the 
young. 
Kingfishers are not sociable with their own kind, nor with the 
human race. A pair will preempt a small district, and allow no other 
