So they drove him down stream and out of
sight.
Years afterward I solved the second problem suggested by the
kingfisher's den, when I had the good fortune, one day, to watch
a pair beginning their tunneling. All who have ever watched the
bird have, no doubt, noticed his wonderful ability to stop short
in swift flight and hold himself poised in midair for an
indefinite time, while watching the movements of a minnow
beneath. They make use of this ability in beginning their nest
on a bank so steep as to afford no foothold.
As I watched the pair referred to, first one then the other would
hover before the point selected, as a hummingbird balances for a
moment at the door of a trumpet flower to be sure that no one is
watching ere he goes in, then drive his beak with rapid plunges
into the bank, sending down a continuous shower of clay to the
river below. When tired he rested on a watch-stub, while his mate
made a battering-ram of herself and kept up the work. In a
remarkably short time they had a foothold and proceeded to dig
themselves in out of sight.
Kingfisher's tunnel is so narrow that he cannot turn around in
it. His straight, strong bill loosens the earth; his tiny feet
throw it out behind. I would see a shower of dirt, and perchance
the tail of Koskomenos for a brief instant, then a period of
waiting, and another shower.
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