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instance occuired more recently at Wanganui, where, according to a local paper, the family of the 
Eev. C. H. S. Nicholls were startled one day at dinner by the entrance of a Kingfisher, which “flew 
through a pane of glass in one of the windows, scattering the fragments around,” and was forthwith 
made prisoner by the household cat. 
Its food consists of lizards, small fish, grubs, earthworms, locusts, insects of all kinds, and even 
mice. On examining a young Kingfisher just taken from the nest, I observed the tail of a half- 
giown mouse piotruding fiom its bill ; and on taking hold of it I drew the unmutilated carcass of 
the rodent from the throat of the bird. I was not previously aware that mice formed part of the 
Kingfisher’s bill of fare *. I have often, however, witnessed its fondness for lizards, two species of 
which (. Mocoa zealandica and M. ornata ) are very common in all the open glades. I have seen it 
seize the nimble little reptile by the tail, and after battering its head against a stone or the branch of 
a tree, to destroy life, swallow the captive, head foremost. It has been known to attack and kill 
chickens in the poultry-yard. On one occasion, at Otaki, I saw one of these birds dart down into 
the midst of a very young clutch ; but the old barn-door hen proved too active, and with one rapid 
stroke of her bill put the assailant hors de combat. The bird was picked up stunned with the blow, 
but soon after, recovering itself, escaped from the hands of its captor. In Wanganui it provoked the 
hostility of the Acclimatization Society by preying on the young of the House-Sparrow (. Passer 
domesticus), which had been introduced at much expense ; and the committee encouraged a crusade 
against the offenders by offerring a premium for Kingfishers’ heads. But in the present attitude of 
the public towards the ubiquitous Sparrow, which has become a nuisance, it would be scarcely 
prudent to repeat such an offer. According to the Keport of the Auckland Acclimatization Society 
foi 1808-69, it has proved very troublesome in destroying birds, and has even attacked and killed a 
Californian Quail. In Otago it has been accused of purloining the speckled trout ; and in Canterbury 
it was found necessary to protect the newly hatched fish by stretching wire netting over the shallow 
artificial streams. A valued correspondent, and very careful observer, informs me that on one 
occasion he killed a blackfish about twelve feet long in Whangarei harbour, and dragged it ashore ; 
and on visiting the place a few days later he observed an unusual number of Kingfishers present. On 
watching them, he found that they were preying on the swarms of flies attracted by the dead cetacean, 
darting after them with the swiftness of an arrow, and capturing them on the wing. 
In light rainy weather the Kingfisher is in his element in the meadows. The moisture brings 
the grubs, earthworms, and other small animal life to the surface. From his post of observation on 
the fence he drops nimbly to the ground, swallows his captive and remounts to his perch, repeating 
the operation every few minutes, and for more than an hour at a time. It is evident, therefore, that 
this biid is of use to the agriculturist, and deserves protection rather than persecution. 
W hen engaged in fishing, it does not plunge into the stream, like the common British Iving- 
fisher, but dips into it lightly as it skims the surface of the water or darts downwards from its post 
of observation on a rock or overhanging branch f. 
It may not be generally known that Kingfishers are excellent vermin destroyers, and on this account are well worthy 
of protection. Yesterday a number of gentlemen in the neighbourhood of the Park Hotel, Wellesley Street, observed a curious 
scene. A Kingfisher which was perched on one of the newly-planted trees was observed to make a sudden dart towards the 
high bank at the side of the street, and he speedily returned to his perch on the fence which protects the tree. It was then 
seen that the biid had a mouse, which was alive and struggling, in his beak. The attention of those present became concentrated 
on the movements of the bird, and they saw him repeatedly strike the mouse’s head against the rail. As the latter became 
stunned, the bird removed its hold from the centre of tho animal’s back to his hind quarters and tail, and while so holding it 
beat the mouse to death against the rail, and flew off to devour its prey.”— Weir Zealand Herald. 
t As the fact of our Kingfisher being piscivorous has been challenged, it may be well to reprint here a note which I sent 
to the Wellington Philosophical Society in 1878 (Trans. H.-Z. Inst. vol. xi. p. 369) 
On driving round Porirua harbour on the 19th July last, I noticed an unusual number of Kingfishers perched on the 
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