Kingfisher

Kingfisher, also called emerald. Its body is emerald blue and its belly is brown. It usually lives in an upright posture next to the water. It stays motionless for a long time, waiting. Fish and shrimps swim by. Whenever they see a fish or shrimp, they immediately dive into the water with a quick and fierce gesture and catch it with their mouths. Sometimes, you can also see it fluttering its wings and flying 5-7 meters above the water, as if Hanging in the air, looking down at the water. The kingfisher's nest is often built in the sandy soil of the field embankment, dug into a tunnel, with a depth of about 60 centimeters. The kingfisher's green feathers sparkle due to refraction. In the past, emperors' costumes and The "phoenix crown" is decorated with kingfisher feathers, which have not faded after a long time.

Many people think that kingfishers are freshwater birds that live along rivers. In fact, members of the kingfisher family There are many. Some kingfishers live on the seaside. The belted kingfisher and the spotted kingfisher are typical seabirds.

The belted kingfisher is distributed in the coastal areas of North America and northern South America. Kingfishers often live in the bushes and treetops on the shore. The Belted Kingfisher has a rich menu, including salmon, shrimp and crab. The Belted Kingfisher always stays on the water before hunting. It hovers around in search of underwater prey. Once it finds prey, it will dive quietly and quickly into the water to catch the prey. Belted Kingfishers are migratory birds. Every August, they begin to migrate. April and May It returns to its hometown in the next month. The belted kingfisher inhabits burrows on the coast. The burrows are generally 2.4 meters deep. The underground burrows are dug by the female and male birds together. After everything is ready, the female bird gives birth to There are about 5 to 7 eggs, which are just placed at the bottom of the cave. After about 23 days, the baby kingfisher will be born.

The spotted kingfisher lives in the southern regions of Asia and Africa. The male bird The whole body is mainly black. There is a wide circle of white feathers around the neck. There are also white feathers on the tail and wings. The underside of the wings is also white. The color of the female bird is very similar to that of the male bird. Only the female bird has white feathers on its neck. The white feathers are not a circle, but just a bunch of white hair on the chest. Another distinctive feature of female birds is that their necks and legs are black. Spotted kingfishers also have the habit of digging holes to lay eggs. However, they The burrows of the spotted kingfishers are not as deep as those of the belted kingfishers. The burrows dug by the spotted kingfishers are generally only 30 cm deep. The top of the tunnel is the female bird's delivery room. The spotted kingfishers can lay 2 to 6 eggs in a nest. They incubate the eggs and feed the young birds. The work is completed by both the female and male birds.

A genus of the kingfisher family in the Buddhist order. It is blue and black from the forehead to the pillow, densely interspersed with emerald blue horizontal spots, and the back is bright emerald blue. , chestnut brown belly; light horizontal spots on the top of the head; red beak and feet. From a distance, it looks like a woodpecker. Because the feathers on its back and face are bright blue, it is commonly known as a kingfisher. There are three species of kingfishers in China : Spotted Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher and Common Kingfisher. The last one is common and widely distributed.

Kingfishers often rest upright on low branches or rocks near the water, waiting for opportunities to prey. Fish, shrimp, etc., so they are also known as fish, tiger, fish and dog.

It likes to live in waters such as rivers, lakes and irrigation channels with shrubs or sparse forests, clear and slow-flowing water. Lonely , usually lives alone on branches or rocks near the water, waiting for opportunities to hunt. Its food is mainly small fish, and it also eats crustaceans and various aquatic insects and their larvae. It also eats small frogs and a small amount of aquatic plants. The breeding season of kingfishers in southern China is from April to July every year. Kingfishers can use their thick beaks to make nests in holes on earth cliffs, and they can also nest in tunnels in field embankments. These cave birds are closely related to woodpeckers. Similarly, there is generally no bedding at the bottom of the hole, and the eggs are laid directly on the nest floor. Each clutch lays 6 to 7 eggs. The eggs are pure white, bright, slightly spotted, about 28 mm × 18 mm in size, and there are 1 to 2 clutches per year. ; The incubation period is about 21 days. Male and female birds incubate the eggs together, but only the female bird feeds the chicks. Kingfishers have beautiful feathers and can be used as decorations. However, they are fond of eating fish, which is detrimental to fishery production.