Kingfishers - Part 2
JenniFer H Muir
African Pygmy Kingfisher Source Internet: Bird Wallpapers
In Green Space Our Place’s Quarterly Magazine (Issue 33, December 2021), I discussed Australia’s two water / river kingfishers (Little and Azure), and the migratory Buffbreasted Paradise-Kingfisher of the forest / tree kingfisher group. In this Part 2 article, I will continue with this diverse and colourful group.
and variations of red. In some species the underparts are shades of rufous or orange, eg African Pygmy Kingfisher. Cape York Peninsula’s Yellow-billed Kingfisher, though mainly orange and green, has a blue rump and tail. Some kingfishers are marked with bars or spots, and differences between sexes in most kingfishers are minimal.
Most kingfishers are easily recognisable by their obvious physical characteristics. The oversized bill; short neck; top-heavy appearance; usually thickset body, short tail and legs; and at least some blue feathers, distinguish a kingfisher. Some people comment that a kookaburra looks just like a big kingfisher, not necessarily realising they have recognised the characteristics that make the kingfisher group unique.
Only the widespread (Africa, Asia and Middle East) Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is entirely black and white. Adult males have two black bands across their white breast: the upper band broad, the lower one narrow. Females have only one black, incomplete breast-band limited to a patch on each side of the breast.
Water (aka river) kingfishers usually have very long bills like tweezers - better for hunting fish, whereas most tree (aka forest) kingfishers have broader bills and usually take prey on the ground. The latter group is a larger, more diversified family that doesn’t necessarily need to be near water. Kingfishers have a big advantage: superb colour-sensitive and binocular vision that enables them to see small prey from surprisingly long distances. This also enables water kingfishers to accurately judge water depth. Typically, they perch immobile on a branch or rock (some hover), looking down to locate their prey. Some bob their heads to judge aim, distance and, if hunting in water, water refraction, and wave their wings to startle the prey into moving and becoming more visible. Once focused on their prey, kingfishers dive head-first onto it, either in water or on the ground, catching it with their bills (not their feet as do raptors). Water kingfishers sometimes ‘fly’ in the water to pursue fish, and have nictitating membranes to protect their eyes. After catching their prey and returning to their perch, kingfishers tenderise and ‘juggle’ it into the right position to swallow it whole. Many kingfishers are brightly coloured in blues (particularly on the wings) and greens, some with patches of white 14
Pied Kingfishers feed on fish in open wetlands. They often hover above the water, then dive to seize their lunch. They nest in excavated burrows in banks: sometimes in pairs, sometimes in small colonies. Kingfishers also vary considerably in size: from the world’s smallest, 10-12cm African Pygmy Kingfisher, to the largest, Australia’s 40-48cm Laughing Kookaburra. The tiny, unobtrusive African Pygmy Kingfisher (Ceyx pictus), pictured above, has rich blues, oranges and a mauve face patch. Sexes are alike in this colourful, attractive species. They perch on low branches and dart into grass for insects, and typically of many kingfisher species, nest in burrows dug in earth banks. African Pygmy Kingfishers are widespread in sub-Saharan Africa (including Kenya and Tanzania). They prefer forests and woodlands, sometimes visiting cultivated areas, but are not usually found near water. On the opposite side of the size scale (pictured right), the world’s largest kingfisher is Australia’s iconic Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae): world famous for its wild laughing call which starts with low repeated chuckles that build to a crescendo of loud ‘laughter’. This is so regular in the bush, especially at dawn and dusk, that it was and may still be known ‘out bush’ as the ‘bushman’s clock’.
