Pied Kingfisher

This is a medium-sized kingfisher, about 25 cm (9.8 in) long with a white and black mask, a white supercilium, and black breast bands. The crest is neat and the upperparts are barred in black. Several subspecies are recognized within the broad distribution. The nominate race is found in sub-Saharan Africa, extending into West Asia. The subspecies C. r. syriacus is a larger, northern bird similar to the nominate subspecies (following Bergmann's rule). Subspecies leucomelanura is found from Afghanistan east into India, Thailand, and Southeast Asia. The subspecies C. r. travancoreensis of the Western Ghats is darker with the white reduced. The subspecies C. r. insignis is found in Hainan and southeastern China and has a much larger bill. Males have a narrow, second breast band, while females have a single broken breast band.

It is common throughout sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia from Turkey to India to China. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate, other than short-distance, seasonal movements. In India, it is distributed mainly on the plains and is replaced in the higher hills of the Himalayas by the crested kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris). The pied kingfisher is estimated to be one of the three most-numerous kingfishers in the world; the other two are the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) and collared kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris). It is a noisy bird, making it hard to miss.

When perched, the pied kingfisher often bobs its heads up and down and sometimes raises its tail and flicks it downwards. It calls often with sharp chirruk chirruk notes. Unlike some kingfishers, it is quite gregarious, and forms large roosts at night.

Feeding. This kingfisher feeds mainly on fish, although it takes crustaceans and large aquatic insects such as dragonfly larvae. It usually hunts by hovering over the water to detect prey, before diving vertically, bill-first, to capture fish. When not foraging, it has a straight, rapid flight and have been observed flying at speeds approaching 50 km/h. In Lake Victoria in East Africa, the introduction of the Nile perch reduced the availability of haplochromine cichlids, which were formerly the preferred prey of these birds. It can consume prey without returning to a perch, often manipulating the subject with its bill and swallowing in flight, so can hunt over large water bodies or in estuaries that lack perches required by other kingfishers.

Breeding. The breeding season in India is February to April. Its nest is a hole excavated in a vertical mud bank about 5 feet (1.8 m) above water. The nest tunnel is 4-5 feet deep and ends in a chamber. Several birds may nest in the same vicinity. The usual clutch is three to six white eggs. …