Bird Families of North America by Pete Dunne

Author:Pete Dunne
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780358164043
Publisher: HMH Books
Published: 2021-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

Alcedinidae: Kingfishers

Implications of the name notwithstanding, not all kingfishers eat fish. Many species outside the Americas are forest birds that do not live near water. However, all kingfishers are predatory, dropping from elevated perches onto fish, insects, or vertebrate prey that the birds secure in their knifelike bills. The planet’s tropical forests are home to the greatest diversity of these worldwide birds, and while some are desert dwellers, many occur near aquatic environments. Most nest in chambers at the end of tunnels excavated by both sexes in earth cliffs or banks that may be far from water. Some nest in tree cavities.

Ranging in size from the African Dwarf Kingfisher, weighing about 0.3 ounces, to the Australian Laughing Kookaburra, weighing nearly a pound, most kingfishers are between 1 and 3.5 ounces, with North America’s most widespread Belted Kingfisher weighing 5 ounces. All kingfishers have long, pointed, daggerlike bills, relatively large neckless heads, compact bodies, and short legs, and the majority have four toes—three forward and one back. Most have green or blue backs, and many show a degree of brilliance. Males, females, and juveniles are mostly similar.

Like owls, kingfishers have limited eye mobility, so they are obliged to search for prey by turning their heads. Fish-eating members of the family that plunge-dive for submerged prey must adjust their dives to account for light refraction. While most are perch hunters, some are adroit at hovering.

Kingfishers are mostly shy; some species vocalize as soon as humans appear, and many riverside species flush well ahead of approaching watercraft. While not accounted among the bird world’s most accomplished musicians, 92 kingfisher species enjoy a vocal repertoire from rattles and ticks to peeps and loud, raucous yodels. The laugh of the Australian Laughing Kookaburra ranks among the most recognized animal sounds on the planet.

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