THE BELTED KINGFISHER
 Belted Kingfisher (male), Netarts Bay, Oregon Copyright © 1996, Don Baccus |
 Belted Kingfisher - female © 1988 VIREO/Peter LaTourrette |
You're down by the water (lake, river, marsh, whatever) and suddenly you hear the raucous sound of an old-fashioned wooden ratchet-style noisemaker! No, that's not what it is! It's a Belted Kingfisher! The sound is unmistakable and unforgettable! (listen!)(¹) . Be prepared to see the Kingfisher, or its splash, as it plunges head first into the water for a fish dinner.
The Kingfisher is found world-wide as many species. The species most common to North America is the Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon, or simply Ceryle alcyon ), and at some time or another those of us north of the US/Canada border have all seen a picture of it (check out the back of the "old" Canadian $5 banknote). Oddly enough, as we see in the two excellent photographs above, the female is the more colourful, with a reddish band across her abdomen.
The Belted Kingfisher, like the Burrowing Owl and Cliff Swallow, is a bird that nests in the ground, and like the Swallow, it seeks out cliffs or steep banks and excavates a tunnel for its nest. The tunnel, stretching from three to six feet or more into the earth, terminates in an enlarged nesting chamber. The cliffs or steep banks need not necessarily be at water's edge.
The Kingfisher is a solitary bird, with both sexes defending their own fishing territory and only co-operating during the breeding/ nesting season, which can begin as early as April. The Royal Ontario Museum lists it as one of the summer birds of Metropolitan Toronto so one might possibly see it in the river valleys around Toronto or marshy edges of Lake Ontario. The "Friends of the Rouge Valley" list it as one of the birds that may be seen in that valley on the eastern outskirts of Metropolitan Toronto.
To continue on with the discussion of the Belted Kingfisher I have assembled a few essays on this bird that you may find interesting. Some of these articles contain links to other areas that I encourage you to explore.
(¹) Sound file ©Royal Ontario Museum.
ESSAYS ON THE KINGFISHER (AMONG OTHER THINGS)
Most of the following articles are links to other websites. You will need patience at times waiting for a connection and subsequent downloading of information (especially pictures and some sounds - for the first time). As you explore additional areas of these websites you may lose the tie back to Whiskey-Jack. In that case you will have to return to your Whiskey-Jack bookmark (that I assume you have established).
One problem that sometime arises is that Links "disappear" for a variety of reasons. I will try to monitor the site for this and action as indicated. Otherwise if you encounter a problem I would appreciate hearing about it.
Hatchery Fish hatcheries versus the Kingfisher. I would expect that the Kingfisher also helps the hatchery by culling out the weak and dead fingerlings. I hope the solution in these conflicts is "the Kingfisher AND the hatchery" instead of "The Kingfisher OR the hatchery"
The Links provided in the original page are incorrect, so I took the liberty of correcting them and have provided a corrected page here. The corrected Links will lead you to a listing of bulletins on many more subjects.
Blue Sky This article, author unknown, is from the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve, Jointly managed by the City of Poway, the County of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department, and the California Department of Fish and Game. I have taken the liberty to edit in some paragraph breaks. The following Link will take you to the website of the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve
The Blue Sky Home Page Home Page of the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve.
A Bird in The Hand, by Janet Lembke This essay is found in the website maintained by "The Anglers of the AuSable" in Grayling Michigan. "The Anglers" is not a fishing club, but an association of conservationists. The essay page has links to information about the group, including its "Home Page" which is well worth visiting. Grayling, located about 130 miles north of Lansing, is the starting point of a yearly 120 mile canoe marathon down the AuSable river to Oscoda on the shore of Lake Huron.
Bookmark here
The Toronto, Canada, Scene:
The Rouge Valley Kingfishers in The Rouge River valley.
Rouge Home Home page of "The Friends of the Rouge River Watershed". An excellent site dedicated to education about, and preservation of, the area.
ROM King The Kingfisher page of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) Biodiversity site, complete with same sound clip as heard earlier (may take a while to load and you may have to click on the sound icon a second time to hear the sound).
ROM Birds The ROM Fieldguide to Common Birds of Metropolitan Toronto". Similar lists for other Ontario regions can also be created. here. Be sure to explore the complete Biodiversity site at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Central Americas The Ringed Kingfisher of Central America (Ceryle torquata).
Britain Britain's only Kingfisher, simply called "The Common Kingfisher" (Alcedo atthis). Apparently well distributed throughout Europe.This picture is actually on a site in Denmark, as the original British link is now unavailable.
Germany - Eisvögel This link is to the "Save the Kingfisher" program in Germany where the European Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis ispida L.) is specified in the "Red List of endangered species". The material is well worth reading and there are some spectacular photographs of Kingfishers in action (note that foto#8 doesn't exist). Choice of German or English language
INDIA
Observers in India have on record at least seven species of Kingfisher there. As well, India has a "Kingfisher beer":
Last minute note: Further reading indicates that the real noisy Kookaburra is Dacelo gigas. Perhaps one of our Australian readers could clear up this confusion, as I suspect that these two birds are also much different in appearance.
The Aviary Description of the Australian Kingfisher. Note the bit about the offspring helping to care for the next brood.
Wav sound This link provides a "WAV" file sound of the Kookaburra - It may take 2 minutes or more to download the large file, but it's well worth listening-to!
The source of this sound is "Common Birds of the Australian National Botanic Gardens" located at ANBG .
As I previously indicated the Kookaburra is not the only Kingfisher in Australia. Here's another one that I was able to find - The Sacred Kingfisher:
Sacred The Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus). Source: Melbourne Zoo.
And now, travelling north from Australia to the island of Guam we have:
Micronesia The Micronesian Kingfisher (Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina, or simply Halcyon c. cinnamomina). The island population of this bird and other creatures was essentially wiped out by the Australian Brown Tree Snake, a constrictor that immigrated into Guam after World War II. A valiant attempt at recovery of this bird and other decimated species is being made by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.
Check out
Brown Tree Snake (BTS) To read more about this snake - The snake that ate Guam! Guam is now not the only country threatened by this predator!
TAKE A BREAK!
Canoe: (Here's a break from Birding!) This is a link to some information about the "AuSable River Canoe Marathon", that was mentioned earlier. It is held in late July.
Don Baccus has a website at:
http://donb.photo.net/ "Nature photos, on-line guides, and other goodies".
And his email address is:
dhogaza@pacifier.com.
Don Baccus's website, in addition to displaying an extensive collection of his nature photography, also provides a wealth of information on Birding locales and techniques - well worth visiting.
Don's photograph of the belted Kingfisher will also be found at:
Peter LaTourrette has a photo gallery websites: "Birds of Jasper Ridge"
He also has a gallery at
North American birds.
In addition to being photo editor forthe Journal of The Western Field Ornithologists
The Canadian Bird Trends Database Note: Cookies must be accepted in order to get through the 'Disclaimer' page.
that is a reference site for The Jasper Ridge Biological Reserve.
he also maintains the website for The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society.