Upright Perching Water Birds
Belted Kingfisher
Ceryle alcyon
Length: 13 in. (33 cm )
Aptly named, this bird eats mainly fish, but this kingfisher is not above taking an occasional aquatic insect, frog, lizard, small bird, mouse or even fruits. The kingfisher sits patiently on an exposed twig over fresh or saltwater or hovers momentarily over the water\'s surface to dive head first into the water and grab the prey with its long and sharp bill. The nest is a tunnel 3-15 ft 1-5 m) long and dug horizontally by the kingfishers into vertical sandy banks over the water. At the end of the tunnel a rounded and grass-floored nest chamber holds the eggs and later the young. Rarely the belted kingfisher will nest in a tree cavity. The newly fledged young are taught how to fish by the adults dropping dead fish in the water in front of them. During the winter, males and females maintain separate territories.
The four-digit banding code is BEKI.
Male | Jim Burns(link is external)
Female | Robert Shantz(link is external)
Marsh / swamp
Open water
Riparian / River forest
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