THE STORY OF THE BIRDS. 
543 
place scrupulously clean, removing carefully every dead leaf or twig that 
may 'happen to fall on it from the trees above. These cleared spaces are 
undoubtedly used as dancing-grounds, but personally I have never seen a 
bird dancing in them, but have always found the proprietor either seated 
quietly in, or moving backwards and forwards slowly about them, calling at 
short intervals, except in the morning and evening, when they roam about 
to feed and drink. The males are always to be found at home, and roost on 
some tree close by. 
Common Kingfisher—The common kingfisher is a beautiful bird of a green¬ 
ish blue color, with a band of white feathers on the sides of the neck, a 
buffy white throat and the under parts a rich orange red; the bill is black, 
the feet coral red. It is seven and a half inches) in length. The three 
varieties are all crested. It is common all over Europe and Northwestern 
Asia. It is exclusively a water bird, feeding on fish. Seated under over¬ 
hanging willows or on an exposed bough or stump, the kingfisher watches 
patiently for the approach of its prey, when it dives like a flash of light¬ 
ning under the water. Sometimes it builds a nest, but quite as often lays 
its eggs in a tunnel in the bank, excavated by itself. 
Java Kingfisher—The bill of the Java kingfisher resembles that of the 
stork and is coral red in color. The plumage is dull green with a shade of 
blue on the wings, the head chocolate brown, the under surface a pale 
ochre. It nests in holes in high sandy banks, and although fish forms its 
principal food, it relishes crabs and frogs. Of the stork-billed kingfishers 
eleven species are known, their range extending from the Indian Penin¬ 
sula and Ceylon, through the Burmese and Malayan countries to Java, 
Sumatra, the Philippines, Borneo and Celebes. 
Black-Capped Kingfisher—The marks by which this bird is best known are 
a black cap or crest on the head and a broad white collar on the back of the 
neck. The under surface of the body is white with a chest band of black 
and white feathers. It is a peculiar fact that in the Old World these birds 
are either black and white, or gray and white, while in America they are 
either gray or green. Like the Java kingfisher they have long bills and 
long tails, and live exclusively upon fish. Writing of a nest with young 
found in the Northwestern Himalaya, a naturalist states that ‘‘the entrance 
was a large hole, fully four inches in diameter, and at the end was a cham¬ 
ber fully ten inches across, in which were four young birds; in the chamber 
was a quantity of fish bones and some grass. The eggs are three or four in 
