had reached some t™ t a r f X l t X 7 i™ O T d ? r ''* "™ 7 l ^ r t o f i t after it
th e occupied burrow, I tu rn e d the su n lM it h ito > Z »"■» " '“® " '“ 'n g m
th e whole in te rio r, ’and th e b M a t t K X «’hich sho?ved
vm d ly , and its eyes like two beads o f flame UnwTlliuJ t X " / i ."'I*""* gleaming
m o re th a n for a second o r two, and never Succeeded re f i r e “ i ’
subsequent occasions. ■ L a st week however f fmmd tl I I j 7
s ittin g sideways on th e enlarged end o f the h i e a ^D w 'ri re X ^ / *"* l»S‘tion,
ones p eeping o u t from u n d e r h e r w in v . Z " f two o r th ree young
an d ne stled back in to th e fa rth est co rn er An Z " '™ ! X ¡'ivestigation,
microscopic observation. The m o n th o f th e Im l e Z o “ b ro u g h t the g ro u p almost u nde r
d e p th 2 feet 3 inches. A few 3 l fish bon eXe X , ' " 7 ’ »''' ^ ' ‘¡g>h “ d the
passage. The cireiunstances a 7 “ " " " r ™ e in the
r a t o r an y o th er cre ature, b u t have done X th e w X J Z " b P r e p r i r i " “
an o th e r n e st in a b a n k overhanvino- the sti-e'am o n d T themselves I subsequently found
deep, two eggs were tak en w ith a ° mall m n Z n ! T ■’ '™" “ Pto'» '‘" d a h a lf 3S = S S £ ~ 1'L - S 5“i=f.s£,,;r£“ E “ easUy m istaken for one .” - 'ta c tio n m th e neighbourhood o f r a ts holes, i t is often
anecdXe,“X * i s i e X s X o f n e X - ™ “ “ ™ll-knoTO
bole t o X p t i X u t C k ' w L t "
on passing a spare top o f’m y fly-r7d to t Z e x l w ^
b ro u g h t o u t some freshly c.ast bones o f 7 fill ? ' ‘ '* ‘ “ '“ '1 °P n early th re e feet, I
surmise. The day f o l lo iL g ¥ a X Z vfsiied he w Z ™ 7 “" “ X
n e a rly two feet squa re o f th e r e r f d „ l f !P “ “P“ “P ^ r removing
whicii led to it. X r o I foimd W e ® t ' " ’. d istu rb in g the passagl
removed w ith care a id t S r W " e d® fL " ¥ “ d 7 ‘
itself, and resto red the t u Z sod A W n i Z ^ “ s the bank
o f the former W t h h n t th a t ^ i t was
from m j c o l l e c S t bo x • / ' o f cotton wool
faices o f th e y o u i lZ b l lo d o f 'th e a Z lnd‘7 r f re‘° ‘7 “ ; “ > »" ‘»<= ‘' “"»"8« ™d
from wh a t fh a v e addimed we n n ^ l i w l “ ".*“ “ ‘>ng “ fact a n e s t: and I think,
b e tte r ad ap ted to defend tiie e g g lX m l b e X m p ^ e l r f i ” “ ^ " 7 - “ ‘» » 'g could be
Dr. J e rd o n mentions th a t th e Ak ed o bengalensis is subject to variety, and occasionally
varieties o f o ur Common Kingfisher a re m et with. Mr. F . Bond h as a specimen beautifully-
varied Avith w hite, and M. Ju le s V e rreau x informs us th a t h e has late ly seen two Kingfishers
q u ite Avhite w ith pink eyes, b u t on th e b rea st Avas a faint -tinge o f rufous, and on th e back a
tin g e o f green. Mr. Bond likewise once shot a specimen which had the o u ter tail-feathers
elongated in a curious manner.
- We cannot now in England plead the excuse o f the superstition o f the peasantry in
usin g the d ried bird as a weather-cock (Avhich practice still prevails in F ran ce as recorded
above by M. Ju le s V e rreau x ), as th e cause o f the Avholesale destruction which th re a ten s this
lovely bird. This usage evidently ex isted in th is co untry in Shakespeare’s time, and th ree
instances are adduced by Mr. J . E. Ha rtin g in his in te restin g articles on th e “ Birds o f
Shakespeare” (Zool. 1867, p. 5 3 3 ):— “ I t was also supposed th a t th e dead bird, cai*efully
balanced and suspended b y a single thread, would always tu rn its back towards th a t point
o f the compass from which th e wind blew. Kent, in ‘Kin g Le a r,’ speaks o f rogues Avho
‘ tu rn th e ir halcyon beaks with every gale and v ary o f th eir m a s te rs ; ’ and after Shakespeare,
MarloAve, in his ‘ JeAV o f Malta,’ says: ‘B u t hoAV now stands th e win d ? In to Avhat corner
peers my halcyoris b i ll ? ’ ”
The g rea te st enemy o f the Kingfisher in England noAv appears to be the preserver of
salmon-fry, and to th e y outhful fish th e sharp-eyed Kingfisher proves a destructive foe, and
the fishermen by p u ttin g snares across the hole catch th e female bird s in g re a t numbers.
Another way oi' catcliing Kingfishers is by placing th in meshed-nets across narroAv brooks;
th is plan is extensively practised, Mr. J . H. Gurney informs me, near Darlington, and Ave also
often g e t th em th u s caught on th e brooks n e a r Hendon, in th e immediate neighbourhood o f
London. In confinement th e Kingfisher is n o t an easy b ird to keep, b u t in th e Fish-house
a t th e Zoological Gardens one or two may u sually be seen, and th e ir d e x te rity in capturing
fish may often be noticed. Mr. A. D. Ba rtle tt, th e well-knoAvn Superintendent o f th e Zoological
Gardens, tells us a curious sto ry o f a n e s t o f y o u n g Kingfishers which were placed in the
A v ia iy in th e Fish-house in th e above-named Gardens, and were duly n u rtu re d and reared by
another old bird, afready domiciled there. The y oung ones were allowed to progress till
th ey reached a decent size, when they were every one killed for some unaccountable reason
by the old foster-parent, who speared th em th ro u g h w ith his bid.
As regards the occurrence o f the Kingfisher in Ireland, i l r . H a rry Blake-Knox, one o f
the b e s t F ie ld Na turalists we have in Great Britain, has w ritte n to u s as follows :—
“ Were I to write a h isto ry o f th is species I could only rep eat the remarks o f o th er
Na tura lists, and w ith reg ard to its migx’ation in the County Dublin I can say b u t little b u t
th a t i t is not a common b ird Avith us except in autmnn. I have no d oubt i t would be a
permanent resident in the co u n ty and generally th ro u g h o u t Ire lan d if unmolested, because
i t breeds in suitable localities an d tai-ries -with us frequently th ro u g h th e Avinter. I t
looks especially beautiful Avlien seen in th e la tte r season o f th e year, flying across th e frozen
riv e rs o r crossmg the suoav. During the au tum n th ere ,is a g re a t influx o f K ingfishers into
th is and th e neighbouring counties, aud it is solely at tins season one meets with them
upon the coast, and th en only Avliere it is rocky and consequently full o f pools, in Avhich
rock fish and crustaceans (particularly praAvns) are left b y the receding tide, and these
afford a p lentiful supply o f food for the Kiug'fishers. I am confident these b irds, so found,
are on th e ir Avay south, b u t th a t they linger for months in such h au n ts I am positive, from
the fact o f always meeting a p a ir o r more in th e same locality. I haA’e seen them on our
islands, miles o u t to sea, AvRere th ey have tak en up a temporary abode, aud I have elsewhere
mentioned hoAV strangely o u t o f place th ey seem in such localities, and hoAv th ey ro o st on
th e gunwales o f boats in little compimics, sittin g side by side like LoA*e-birds. They u tte r a
shrill g ra tin g AAffiistle more frequently over the salt water th an over the fresh. The retu rn in g
spring migration like th a t o f the Skua is not performed along the east coast o f Ire lan d ,
and perhaps like the Skua takes place on th e AA'estern, b u t o f this I haA-e no proof.”
Our descriptions and p late are fi-om specimens shot in Berkshii-e b y th e late
Mr. W. Briggs of Cookham.
: I
'iCfri
-1
7 ’ Ii t - '
• it •
" I
;n'i
1 -i