. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms;. Zoology; Birds; Reptiles; Fishes. ROLLERS, KINGFISHERS, HORNBILLS, AND HOOPOES 105 the tunnel approaching it; later, fish brought for the )-oung, but dropped i;)n the waj-, and the fluid excreta of the parents are added, forming a dripping, fetid mass swarming with maggots. The )-oung, on leaving the nest, are at first tenderl)- fed ant! caicd for b)' the parents, but towards the end of the summer seem to be driven awa}' to seek new fishing- grounds for thcmsch-es. Of the many legends that have grown up around this bir
. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms;. Zoology; Birds; Reptiles; Fishes. ROLLERS, KINGFISHERS, HORNBILLS, AND HOOPOES 105 the tunnel approaching it; later, fish brought for the )-oung, but dropped i;)n the waj-, and the fluid excreta of the parents are added, forming a dripping, fetid mass swarming with maggots. The )-oung, on leaving the nest, are at first tenderl)- fed ant! caicd for b)' the parents, but towards the end of the summer seem to be driven awa}' to seek new fishing- grounds for thcmsch-es. Of the many legends that have grown up around this bird, some are well worth repeating. Specially interesting is one related by I'rofessor Newton on the authoritx' of the French naturalist RoUand. This has it that the kingfisher was originally a plain grc\' bird, and acquired its present bright colours by fixing towards the sim on its liberation from Noah's ark, when its upper-surface assumed the hue of the sky abo\'e it, and its lower plumage was scorched by the heat of the setting sun to the tint it now bears. Not a few \'irtues were also attributed to this bird. Its dried bod)' would, it was believed, a\'ert thunder-bolts, or, kept in a wardrobe, preserx-e from moths the woollen stuffs contained therein, whilst, hung by a thread from the ceiling of a room, it would serve like the more conventional weather- cock to point the direction of the prevailing wind. Persecuted though it is, the kingfisher is b}' no means a rare bird in England, and those who will ma)- generally see it b)' the banks of some slowl}- flowing stream or lake, or even shallow brook, sometimes even by the seashore. It feeds upon small aquatic insects and Crustacea and small fishes, sometimes ex'en, it is said, upon leeches. Perched on some bough overhanging the water, or stump or railing on the bank, it watches patientl)', silent and motionless. The moment its prey comes within striking distance it plunges down upon it, disappearing for a moment beneath the su
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecad, booksubjectfishes, booksubjectzoology
