Kingfisher
The adult kingfisher grows to a length of four to eighteen inches (10 to 45 centimeters) and a weight of up to 18 ounces (500 grams). The adult kingfisher has attractive plumage, or feathers. Color combinations are azure blue above and reddish below or light and dark blue, green, brown, white, and black. The bill and legs are vermilion, or bright red, brown, or black. In most species, the male and female are similar in appearance. It has two toes on each foot that are partially webbed.
The kingfisher inhabits the interior of rainforests, woodland areas far from water, desert steppe, grassy savannas, streams, lakeshores, mangroves, seashores, gardens, mountain forests, and oceanic islands. Because the diet of many kingfishers is made up of fish and other aquatic life, it must live in areas where the water is unpolluted.
The kingfisher eats diet of small fish such as minnows and sticklebacks, crustaceans, frogs, and aquatic and land insects. It is possible for a family of six kingfishers to eat up to 100 fish a day.
The nest of the kingfisher is an interesting one. It builds its nest in the side of a riverbank a few feet (about a meter) above the waterline. This keeps the nest safe from predators such as the weasel. Other species use holes in termite nests or in trees. The male kingfisher attempts to attract a female to his nest. If a female shows interest in the male and yet his nest is not complete, she helps him until the nest is finished. But the kingfisher male does not end his courtship once the female has entered his nest. He continues to win her approval by bringing her food. He does this by crouching in front of her, with his wings down by his side, and stretching forward with his offering.
After mating, the female lays two to three white eggs, in the tropical species, and up to 10 eggs for those species in higher latitudes. Both the male and the female incubate the eggs. They do this by gently sitting on the eggs and using the heat from their bodies to keep the eggs warm. The eggs do not hatch if they are not incubated. After an incubation period of 18 to 22 days, the eggs hatch. The young are born without feathers and must stay close to one another for warmth. The young are able to fly after 20 to 30 days.
The life span of the kingfisher is two years.
Here are some representative species of kingfishers: Name Genus/Species African dwarf kingfisher Ceyx lecontei Amazon kingfisher Chloroceryle amazona Beach kingfisher Halcyon saurophaga Belted kingfisher Megaceryke alcyon Common paradise kingfisher Tanysiptera galatea Crested kingfisher Ceryle lugubris Eurasian kingfisher Alcedo atthis Giant kingfisher Megceryle maxima Laughing kookaburra Dacelo gigas Pied kingfisher Ceryle rudis Ringed kingfisher Megaceryle torquata Ruddy kingfisher Halcyon coromanda Stork-billed kingfisher Halcyon capensis Tuamata kingfisher Halcyon gambieri Variable dwarf kingfisher Ceyx lepidus
Source: Encyclopedia of Animals
The kingfisher inhabits the interior of rainforests, woodland areas far from water, desert steppe, grassy savannas, streams, lakeshores, mangroves, seashores, gardens, mountain forests, and oceanic islands. Because the diet of many kingfishers is made up of fish and other aquatic life, it must live in areas where the water is unpolluted.
The kingfisher eats diet of small fish such as minnows and sticklebacks, crustaceans, frogs, and aquatic and land insects. It is possible for a family of six kingfishers to eat up to 100 fish a day.
The nest of the kingfisher is an interesting one. It builds its nest in the side of a riverbank a few feet (about a meter) above the waterline. This keeps the nest safe from predators such as the weasel. Other species use holes in termite nests or in trees. The male kingfisher attempts to attract a female to his nest. If a female shows interest in the male and yet his nest is not complete, she helps him until the nest is finished. But the kingfisher male does not end his courtship once the female has entered his nest. He continues to win her approval by bringing her food. He does this by crouching in front of her, with his wings down by his side, and stretching forward with his offering.
After mating, the female lays two to three white eggs, in the tropical species, and up to 10 eggs for those species in higher latitudes. Both the male and the female incubate the eggs. They do this by gently sitting on the eggs and using the heat from their bodies to keep the eggs warm. The eggs do not hatch if they are not incubated. After an incubation period of 18 to 22 days, the eggs hatch. The young are born without feathers and must stay close to one another for warmth. The young are able to fly after 20 to 30 days.
The life span of the kingfisher is two years.
Here are some representative species of kingfishers: Name Genus/Species African dwarf kingfisher Ceyx lecontei Amazon kingfisher Chloroceryle amazona Beach kingfisher Halcyon saurophaga Belted kingfisher Megaceryke alcyon Common paradise kingfisher Tanysiptera galatea Crested kingfisher Ceryle lugubris Eurasian kingfisher Alcedo atthis Giant kingfisher Megceryle maxima Laughing kookaburra Dacelo gigas Pied kingfisher Ceryle rudis Ringed kingfisher Megaceryle torquata Ruddy kingfisher Halcyon coromanda Stork-billed kingfisher Halcyon capensis Tuamata kingfisher Halcyon gambieri Variable dwarf kingfisher Ceyx lepidus
Source: Encyclopedia of Animals
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