ANATOMY OF BIRDS
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS
CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS
LIZARD-TAILED BIRD
AMERICAN TOOTHED-BIRDS
THE OSTRICHES
THE RHEAS
EMEUS AND CASSOWARIES
THE TINAMOUS
THE KIWIS
THE PENGUINS
LOONS AND GREBES
ALBATROSSES & PETRELS
STORK-LIKE BIRDS
GOOSE-LIKE BIRDS
FALCON-LIKE BIRDS
FOWL-LIKE BIRDS
CRANE-LIKE BIRDS
PLOVER-LIKE BIRDS
CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLERS AND THEIR ALLIES
THE KINGFISHERS
Habits and Distribution of the Kingfisher
As the Kingfishers most familiar to English-speaking people are found in the vicinity of water and feed principally upon fish which they capture alive, it might be supposed that these habits would be characteristic the world over; such, however, is not the case, for while possibly the majority are water-haunting, fish-eating birds, a great many do not eat fish at all, nor do they haunt the vicinity of water, one, a native of Australia, living miles away from it, and where the heat is so intense that few animals can endure it.
The food of the water-loving species consists, as stated, of fish varied with occasional crustaceans; while the food of the others, which are variously known as Wood, Long-tailed, and Laughing Kingfishers, consists of crustaceans, insects, small reptiles, small mammals, and perhaps now and then a young bird. The attitude assumed by these birds is, however, quite characteristic throughout the group, it being their habit to sit motionless watching for their prey, to dart after it and seize it on the wing, and to return to their original position to swallow it.
A favorite position of the fish-eating forms is a stub, some overhanging bough, or projecting stone, whence they keep a sharp lookout for their finny prey, or to hang on vibrating wings over the water, into which they plunge with closed pinions. The omnivorous forms also select some vantage point whence they dart after their prey. The flight of the Kingfishers is usually direct and strong, though not often prolonged for any great distance. In the matter of nesting there is diversity corresponding to their other habits.
The fish-eating forms nest mostly in holes which they excavate for themselves in banks usually along streams, while the forest- or brush-haunting forms nest mainly in natural cavities in trees. The eggs of all, however, are uniformly white and unspotted.
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