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THE LADIES MAGAZINE OF GARDENING. 
The Kingfisher ( Alcedo hispidd) is another beautiful British bird: 
crown and coverts of the wings dark green, spotted with blue; shoulders 
and coverts of the tail bright azure; beneath orange; tail deep blue. 
Although the plumage is splendid, the shape is by no means elegant: it 
is short and lumpy; the wings are also short, but powerful in action. 
Their flight has been compared to a meteor, so rapidly do they skim along 
the water or ground. They live entirely on small minnows, and the fry 
of all other fresh-water fish. Their method of fishing is by perching on a 
low branch of a tree overhanging the stream, and looking steadfastly down, 
they drop suddenly upon their prey, which they seize across the back, and 
though several inches beneath the water, with such certainty as rarely to 
miss. There is a physical necessity for the bird sitting directly over his 
prey; for a lateral view would deceive him as to the real place of the fish, 
owing to the refraction. The Kingfisher makes a nest in a hole under the 
overhanging bank of a pond or river, especially if secluded, and overshaded 
with trees. The banks of a deeply-worn channel of a rivulet, running 
through a wood, are their favourite haunts; and here also they most 
readily find their food in the shallows of the stream. The Miller’s 
Thumb ( Cottus gobia) is a favourite morsel with this bird ; and when they 
have young, it is astonishing the numbers of small fish they devour in 
a day. 
The Water Ouzel is a bird of similar habits, manners, and places of 
abode, with the Kingfisher; only its dress is very different, being 
nearly entirely black. They are only seen on unfrequented parts of 
woody rivulets, at a distance from the habitations of man. 
REVIEWS. 
The Botanical Magazine for August contains the following 
plants :— 
Gesneria bulbosa , Ker. A magnificent stove Gesneria, which produces 
its large scarlet flowers in October. It is a native of Brazil. It was 
figured many years ago in the Botanical Register. 
Tulipa tricolor , Ledebour ; Tulipa patens , Agardh. A very elegant 
species of Tulip, nearly allied to T. bijlora , a native of the Altai Moun¬ 
tains. The {lower has pointed petals, which are white, yellow, and green ; 
and it appears in April. The species is very rare, though it was described 
