. Our own birds : a familiar natural history of the birds of the United States . note, much resembling the sound of the watch-mans rattle, which falls with pleasing effect uponthe ear, as it gently dies away in the distance. Thisis the note of the Belted Kingfisher, which our pres-ence has just started from his perch near by. Heflies some distance up o-r down the stream, where heselects a fresh stand-point, from which he intentlyeyes the motions of the finny tribes below, until onesuited to his taste comes within the range of hisdeadly aim, when with a sudden winding sweep hedarts below the su
. Our own birds : a familiar natural history of the birds of the United States . note, much resembling the sound of the watch-mans rattle, which falls with pleasing effect uponthe ear, as it gently dies away in the distance. Thisis the note of the Belted Kingfisher, which our pres-ence has just started from his perch near by. Heflies some distance up o-r down the stream, where heselects a fresh stand-point, from which he intentlyeyes the motions of the finny tribes below, until onesuited to his taste comes within the range of hisdeadly aim, when with a sudden winding sweep hedarts below the surface, and seizing it with his pow-erful bill, bears it away to his perch, and immediatelyswallows it whole. This singular and not inelegant bird is a lone rep- 128 INSESSORES. resentative of its tribe in the United States; butbeing abundant wherever fresh water and good fish-ing are to be found, it has become quite familiar,occupying as prominent a place in our Natural His-tory, as the pretty little European species does in therural landscapes of Great Britain. The form and. Belted Kingfisher. appearance of the Kingfisher are peculiar. A long,sharp, and powerful bill; a large head, surmountedby a crest that adds fierceness to its look; a thickneck and robust body, but rather small in proportion;wings ample; legs very short, and feet small. Theupper parts of the plumage are bluish lead color,lower parts mostly white; in the male a band of blackcrosses the upper part of the breast; in the femalethe blue tint is not so perceptible, and the bandacross the breast is reddish brown, the belly beinggirted with a broad belt of the same color. Its favorite places of resort are near inland streams, ^iJ^
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1879
