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Kingfishers are known to catch fish by flying low over water and then diving in to make the kill.
photo: Tom Gillespie
Characteristics: This kingfisher is rather small at 8 and ½ inches in length (22 cm) and is among the most beautiful of the African species of birds. They are a very colorful species having a scarlet bill and legs. Pale grey or light brown head and breast, and brilliant cobalt or violet blue rump, tail primaries and secondary. They have a rufous or chestnut belly and underwing color. The sexes are similar however the female has slightly more brown on the head. Females are generally larger weighing about 57 grams while the males generally weigh about 46 grams. They have long stout bills good for catching insects. There are several different races that have notable variations in blue shading on the wing and tail and the amount of Grey color on the head. Their voice is weak twill, sibilant and squeaky with 5 to 7 notes falling in pitch.
Breeding pairs inhabit woodland, bushy grassland, thicket thorn bush, parkland and cultivated areas. They exist in almost any open terrian but avoid thick forests and arid regions. Their range is from Cape Verde Islands, Senegal and South Mauritania, Somalia and SW Arabia North into Swaziland. They are found throughout Africa south of the Sahara and inhabit bush country usually close to water.
Diet: They mainly feed on grasshoppers but also eat variety of insects including scorpions up to 50 mm long and also will eat small reptiles and amphibians, nesting birds and mammals. Sometimes food is caught in flight. Although Kingfishers are known to catch fish by flying low over water and then diving in to make the kill this particular species feeds almost exclusively on land. At the N.C. Zoo they are offered an Insectivore diet made up of Ziegler Softbill, Nebraska Brand Bird of Prey diet. They are also offered live crickets, mealworms and occasionally waxworms.
Reproduction: The breeding display involves the pair circling around above the trees calling constantly. They then dive down to a perch in the treetops where they will open wings in a vertical plane to body from side to side with the wings vibrating. The male also feeds the female during courtship. They build nest burrows into banks or on the ground by streams or rivers. The nests are made in chambers at the end of the burrows about ½ to 1 meter into the banks of rivers or streams. They lay 3-4 oval white eggs. Both sexes care for the young and the incubation period is 16-21 days.
References:
- Rutgers, AJ and KA Norris – 1977 – “Encyclopedia of Aviculture Vol. 3” Bradford Press, London
- Fry, C. Hillary and Kathy – 1992 – “Kingfishers, Bee-Eaters and Rollers” Princeton University Press
- Brown, Neslie and Emil Urban and Kenneth Newman – 1982 – “Birds of Africa Vol. I and II” Academic Press
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N.C. Zoo is a member institution of AZA and an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr. Secretary; Michael F. Easley, Governor. A part of the North Carolina Government portal.
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