Page:The Common Birds of Bombay.djvu/63

Rh with the only Kingfisher found in England. It used to be regarded as a distinct species, chiefly because it grows to a larger size in a cold climate; but so does man. It is a little bird, about the size of a sparrow, which sits on twigs, or stones, beside all waters, pointing its long, sharp, black beak this way and that way, as it scans the pools, and jerking its pert little tail. When it sees a chance, it takes it instantly, popping obliquely into the water and snapping up the fish with its little forceps in a trice. When it emerges, the fish is across its beak, in which position it cannot be swallowed; so the bird alights on a stone and knocks the slippery morsel about in a business-like way until it gets hold of it endways with the head pointing throatwards. Then the fish disappears suddenly. The Common Kingfisher lives almost exclusively on fishes from one to two inches in length, and wherever these are to be found you will find it. There are usually a pair together, which have their own preserves and drive off every intruder. They fly from pool to pool, straight and swiftly, just above the surface of the water, answering to each other in shrill chirps. They lay five, six, or even seven, eggs, in a hole in a bank, which they dig for themselves. From March till June is the season. The Common Kingfisher is a lovely bird, though less dazzling than the last species. The head is dusky, speckled with blue, the rest of the* upper parts are blue, or greenish blue, brightest on the back, and the whole of the underparts are the colour of bright rust. There is a striking crescent-shaped patch of pure white on each side of the neck,