608 
BIRD-LIFE. 
Kingfishers pair in the early spring months, at which 
season their habits become essentially different in many 
respects. The male is more quarrelsome than ever, and 
is always ready for a fight with another of his own 
species. His conduct towards the female is very tender, 
though combined with a certain amount of dignity and 
reserve; any way, he requires courting at the hands 
of the female more than other birds do. He perches 
on a branch or tree, emitting a powerful whistling note 
to attract the attention of the female: she arrives, 
tantalizes and teases her swain, and flies on; the male 
follows, perches on another tree, and recommences calling, 
when the hen again approaches. This kind of chase is 
carried on almost all the morning, during which time 
both birds often wander some distance from the water. 
After they have paired, and the cock bird has won his 
mate, they seek a suitable spot where to rear their 
young. The nest is placed in a hole, in some perpen¬ 
dicular bank on the edge of the river, about two feet 
below the top, and at such a height from the water as to 
preclude all danger from a rapid rise of the stream. At 
page 115 I have already referred to the inexplicable, 
intuitive presentiment which enables them to select places 
free from the danger of being flooded. 
The hole in which the nest is placed is round, and 
about two inches in diameter; it is excavated from about 
two to three feet deep in the ground, widening out at the 
end until it resembles the shape of an oven. The burrow 
slants upwards, and on either side of the entrance is 
a run, which bears traces of the footmarks made by the 
birds when making their entry and exit. The King¬ 
fishers take from two to three weeks to excavate the hole, 
for it is hard work, and often interrupted by the presence 
