7 ° 
Kestrel (Page 49-56). — The Kestrel is the commonest of our 
British hawks, and is a harmless inoffensive bird, but alas ! to the 
undiscriminating eye of the gamekeeper, a hawk is a hawk, and the 
mouse-loving “windhover” has oft-times to fall the victim of his 
gun. The food of the Kestrel consists almost entirely of mice and 
beetles, and it is while in pursuit of the former, that it may so 
frequently be seen hovering high in air, there poised for a few 
seconds absolutely motionless, ere it darts down to seize the mouse 
it has been watching. The Kestrel is a handsome bird, the general 
colour above dull chestnut, with a black spot in the centre of each 
feather, in the male bird the head and neck are steely-blue, as is also 
the tail, the latter being tipped with white ; the throat is buff, the 
breast and undersides reddish-fawn, streaked with black. In the 
female the blue of the head and tail is absent. The Kestrel is 
partially migratory, but is found in Britain throughout the year. 
In the winter it will leave the high lands and descend to avail itself 
of the less severe conditions of the lower lying parts. A number 
migrate to the Continent, while an immigration of a certain number 
takes place to the British Isles from more northern countries. The 
Kestrel nests in cliffs, old ruins, or even in the old and deserted nest 
of a crow or wood-pigeon. The eggs, four, five, or even as many as 
seven in number, are white in ground colour, but often this is 
so thickly blotched and spotted with brownish red as to be barely 
visible. 
A photograph of egg and young of the Kestrel will be found ot» 
Page 42 of the Second Series , and another of young on Page 33 of 
the Third Series of IVild Birds at Home. See also Page* 69 and 
160 of Nature Ticiurts (Gowans & Gray, Ltd., 7/6 net). 
• 
Kingfisher (Pages *7-29). — The Kingfisher is probably the most 
brilliantly coloured of all our British birds. It is a small bird, 
measuring only 7 } inches in length. Its beak is disproportionately 
long, measuring ij inches. It's plumage is greenish-blue, and 
possesses in many parts a bright metallic lustre. '1 he back i* 
brighter blue, the crown on head has bands of dusky black, sides of 
head orange-red, with a cheek stripe of bright blue with dusky bar*, 
while on each side of the neck there is a band of white. The under 
parts are a rich orange-red. The bill is black, and the feet coral- 
red. The species is widely distributed in Britain, and is resident, 
though largely migratory, within our isles. In summer the King- 
fisher frequents rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds, but in winter 
usually leaves the latter for running water. It is especially fond of 
such pools as are fringed by small trees and bushes. Unfortunately 
the brilliant colouration of the Kingfisher makes it an attractive 
•bject to the so-called sportsman, while its feathers are in large 
demand for trout flies, with the result that its numbers are now 
much less than formerly, though it is found to be again increasing 
in districts where it is protected. 
Its food consists of small fish, tadpoles, water beetles, and other 
Insects. If the Kingfisher does destroy a few small trout, the harm 
to the sport of the angler is surely compensated by the beauty and 
interest the bird presents, and it is a memorable sight to see a pair 
of Kingfishers quarrelling, which is not unusual, or to note the bird's 
rapid night as, with shrill cry, it passes swiftly up stream with 
rapidly beating wings and bill held straight out in front. Tb« 
