Halcyon the 
Kingfisher. 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
(150) 
their toll to the swift dart of the meteor¬ 
like birds; but Halcyon’s days of freedom 
are nearly over, for one day in the autumn 
there is a drive of the birds down the stream, 
but this time the nets are cunningly placed, 
and Halcyon and nearly all the Kingfishers 
on the stream are caught. Halcyon sees 
the men and darts down stream, but as he 
passes through a short stretch of woodland 
he sees a net stretched in front of him. He 
tries to dart upw T ards, but the net is over 
him. and at the sides as well, and before he 
can turn back the net falls upon him, and 
he is caught, put into a dark box, and when 
he is released he finds himself surrounded 
by the hated netting everywhere; but there 
are several other Kingfishers with him, and 
there is a beautiful little stream running 
through his prison with plenty of fish, and 
after a few 7 days of sulking he begins to feed 
again. But until his death he feels the want 
of the freedom of the life he lived before he 
met the hated net and lost his precious liberty 
*—more precious to him than to the others, 
caught when they were young, who had not 
felt so much as he the beauty of a free, wild, 
and unfettered life. The Home of the San d Martins. 
Photo :] 
A Queer Nesting Place. 
A 
Blackbird recently built its nest in a clump of rhubarb in a 
garden at Luton. 
\_Mr. Geo. Bowles. 
Our photo shows nest and eggs. 
