Birds 12: KINGFISHER Traditional Cache

KINGFISHER

(Kuifkopvisvanger) 

Call: Short ,sharp kweek or seek, usually given in flight.

Kingfishers are one of the most brilliantly coloured birds, and many have strident voices and dramatic courtship displays. Most species have some blue plumage, and many have red bills. Some have adapted well to man's alteration of natural habitats, and can even be seen in suburban gardens.

QUICK FACTS

Size:  Weight: 80 g.
Height: 13 cm.

Habitat:  Malachite kingfishers are found throughout most of the southern African subregions, other than the drier areas of the western Karoo,and the Kalahari basin.

Diet:  Fish, frogs, aquatic insects, crabs and tadpoles.

Socialisation:  Malachite Kingfisher has regular perches or stands from which it fishes. These are usually low over the water. It sits upright, its tail pointed downwards. It drops suddenly with a splash and usually returns at once with a struggling captive

Reproduction:  The Malachite Kingfisher breeds from August to November. The nest is a tunnel in a sandy bank, usually, though not always, over water. Both birds excavate. Most burrows incline upward before the nesting chamber is reached. The female lays between three & six white eggs, which are incubated for 15 days

Incubation:  lasts 12 - 15 days.

Life Expectancy: 3 to 4 years. .

Predators: Foxes, big cats, owls and hawks. Snakes and other reptiles will sometimes raid their nests.