Belted Kingfisher

Here's a fairly common bird that I hear a lot, sometimes spot, but rarely get pictures of, the Belted Kingfisher. It appears to be a male since the female should have a visible chestnut colored band showing up underneath the blue band that both sexes have. That extra chestnut band makes the Belted Kingfisher one of the few birds where the females are slightly more colorful than the males.

These guys are a bit larger than Blue Jays and share the Blue Jay tendency to raise an alarm call when they see a perceived threat like, but not limited to, photographers. Many times, a kingfisher will spot me and as it flies away it'll warn the herons and ducks that I'm there. Admittedly they aren't as loud/squawky as Blue Jays, but they don't make it easy to get pictures of waterfowl.

From perches like this one, the Belted Kingfisher will try and spot a smallish fish, then dive into the water to catch it in its bill. Though their size and style of fishing are different, they are similar to Great Blue Herons in that they'll eat most animals small enough for them to swallow, though they'll occasionally opt for a vegetarian meal of berries.

September 22, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 168287261, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)



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