Common Kingfisher - description, habitat

The content of the article

1 Appearance
2 What do they eat?
3 How are offspring reproduced?
4 Habitat
5 Interesting about kingfishers
6 Video: Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

The common kingfisher is an interesting breed of small birds belonging to the crayfish-like order and the kingfisher family. The mass of these birds is only 25-30 grams. In appearance, these birds are quite bright and unusual.

Appearance

The size of the bird breed ordinary kingfisher no more than ordinary starlings. These birds have a rather large head, which looks quite large against the background of a small body. Kingfishers have a very long and large beak that is sharp and hard. The wings and tail, on the contrary, are very short. The color of these birds is quite bright and eye-catching, like in other varieties of the crayfish. On the back and wings of kingfishers, a bright and soft plumage of blue color with areas of greenish tint. The abdomen and wings on the inside are presented in a reddish hue that resembles the color of rust. In general, kingfishers have a very bright and noticeable color.

Males and females of this species have the same color, so it can be difficult to distinguish between them. Males are only slightly larger than females and have a slightly brighter color. Kingfishers have very short paws, which are completely not designed to move, so these birds move only with the help of wings.

It is interesting that if you look at the kingfisher when it is nearby, you can see that the color of these birds is dull and not as bright as in flight. The fact is that these birds achieve a special brightness of feathers through the refraction of light, which occurs precisely during flight.

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What do they eat?

The feeding of kingfishers is associated with the territory of their distribution. Most often, these birds can be found near the shores of water bodies. For this reason, the basis of the diet of these bright individuals are small fish, as well as insects found in water and even frog tadpoles. Sometimes freshwater shrimp is used as food. It is worth noting that this species of birds has a good appetite, one individual can eat up to 12 fish per day.

Kingfishers hunt mainly on the fly, grabbing fish, however, sometimes they can dive under the water and fly right out of the water. The common kingfisher is ambushed for some time, waiting for its prey, after which it attacks quite sharply. Birds eat right on the spot, or, if necessary, carry prey to the nest.

How are offspring reproduced?

Males very beautifully look after females of kingfishers. At the onset of the mating season, the representative of the male half catches various fish and in the beak brings them to the female. Then, when the pair forms, the male begins work on the future nest. He arranges housing with his long beak, with which he digs a hole in the ground. A couple can live in the same nest for a long time, up to several years. It is extremely rare to find nests of kingfishers in hollows of alders or other trees located along water bodies.

One clutch includes an average of 7-8 eggs, in rare cases, their number can increase to 12 pieces. The hatching process takes from 2 to 3 weeks. Both parents are near the eggs at this time, alternately engaged in hatching. The chicks that were born do not resemble their parents too much, as they are born naked and blind. In addition, it gives oddities to a disproportionate body. At an early age, the large head of the chicks looks especially large against the background of a still very small body. The growth and development of chicks occurs rather quickly.Three weeks later, babies can independently leave the nest and weigh active life.

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Habitat

Among all individuals of the common kingfisher, there are both settled birds and those that fly away to warmer areas during the wintering period. The greatest distribution of these birds is observed in northwestern Africa, on the Eurasian continent, in the New Zealand territories, as well as in Indonesia. Most often, these birds can be found near rivers, lakes, seas and other bodies of water. Kingfishers do not nest too high; the maximum height is not more than 700 meters above sea level.

There are six subspecies in total, which are also common in our country. For example, they can be found in the forest-steppe and steppes of Siberia. Quite often these birds are found near Tomsk, Achinsk, Novosibirsk, Kansk, Pavlodar, as well as in the upper Yenisei. Around the end of April, the kingfisher flies in the middle zone of our country.

It is important to note that the kingfisher very carefully chooses a place to live. Firstly, there must necessarily be a clean body of water in which there will be running water and an average depth. Too deep rivers and very small ponds are not suitable for these birds. There should also be a cliff near, and on the shore a large number of plants. Kingfishers do not like to settle near colonies of other birds, therefore they are more often looking for places in solitude. Today, the prevalence of kingfishers is becoming less and less, as well as the number of individuals of this species. This is primarily due to human economic activity, however, these birds are not yet considered an endangered species.

Interesting about kingfishers

Common kingfishers are rare birds that, instead of the standard arrangement of nests, select nesting chambers underground, for which they carefully dig a hole. These birds are so concerned about the preservation of their offspring that they make one very narrow entrance to the hole, which even they themselves can hardly pass through.

It is quite difficult to find these birds, as they love solitude. More often you can hear their voice, which is an intermittent, but loud squeak.

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