Thursday, April 21, 2011

Kingfisher





The Kingfisher is a small bird with a very short and sweet tail but has large head and long dagger-like bill.
Its plumage is beautifully bright.. the back and tail are iridescent electric blue, the crown and wings are greenish blue. The underparts and cheeks are an orange-red, and the throat and collar are white. The legs are red.
The sexes are very similar, the main difference being the colour of the lower mandible: the male's bill is all black..
The female's is black with red on the lower mandible.
Juveniles are similar to adults, but the plumage is duller and greener and the tip of the bill is white.There are roughly 90 species of kingfisher. All have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright plumage with little differences between the sexes. Most species are tropical in distribution, and a slight majority are found only in forests.
VOICE
There is much dispute as to whether Kingfishers have a song. Whether or not they do, the commonest call is a shrill whistle "chi-keeeee".
Nesting

The nest is usually in a tunnel, 30-90 cm (12-36") long, in a bank next to slow-moving water. The tunnel is excavated by both sexes and is not lined with any material.
The eggs are white, smooth and glossy, and are almost round at 23 mm by 20 mm. The male and female take turns incubating the eggs, and both adults feed the young.
Conservation
Kingfishers have returned to many once polluted rivers in industrial towns and cities. Despite this, pollution remains a threat, and the Kingfisher remains an amber listed species of conservation concern.
Behaviour

The kingfishers feed on a wide variety of items. They are most famous for hunting and eating fish, and some species do specialise in catching fish, but other species take crustaceans, frogs and other amphibians, annelid worms, molluscs, insects, spiders, centipedes..
Relationship with humans
Kingfishers are generally shy birds, but in spite of this they feature heavily in human culture, generally due to their bright plumage or in some species interesting behaviour.
The White-throated Kingfishers do not live in communities. White-throated Kingfishers hunt alone, but they may perch as close as 100 m apart without showing much hostility. They eat a wide range of food, and are indigenous to Singapore.
the kingfisher is a skillful bird which catches fish.
It is also a colourful bird.The kingfisher flaps straight into his home,a nest it builds by tunneling into the side of a side of a bank.It lays
its eggs at the end of the tunnel.

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