164 Birds Every Child Should Know 
sting attached, you may be sure; but occa- 
sionally he makes a mistake when, don’t you 
believe, he is more sorry for it than the bee- 
keeper? He destroys so many robber flies — a 
pest of the hives — that the intelligent apiarist, 
who keeps bees in his orchard to fertilise the 
blossoms, always likes to see a pair of kingbirds 
nesting in one of his fruit trees. The gardener 
welcomes the bird that eats rose chafers; the 
farmer approves of him because he catches 
the gadfly that torments his horses and cattle, 
as well as the grasshoppers, katydids and 
crickets that would destroy his field crops if 
left unchecked. 
From a favourite lookout on a tall mullein 
stalk, a kingbird neighbour of mine would 
detect an insect over one hundred and seventy 
feet away, where no human eye could see it, 
dash off, snap it safely within his bill, flutter 
uncertainly an instant, then return to his perch 
ready to “loop the loop” again any moment. 
The curved clasp at the tip of his bill and the 
stiff hairs at the base helped hold every insect 
his prisoner. While waiting for food to fly into 
sight the watcher did a good deal of calling. 
His harsh, chattering note, ching, ching, which 
penetrated to a surprising distance, did not 
express alarm, but rather the exultant joy of 
victory. 
He and his mate were certainly frantic with 
