Chinese alias fish and tiger, fish and dog, fisherman, golden bird, big kingfisher, aquamarine and pepper mouth.

Families and genera are divided into birds, corals and Yanidae.

The bluebird symbolizing happiness in the west refers to the kingfisher.

Appearance characteristics

Blue-eared kingfisher is a general term for about 90 short and fat solitary birds all over the world. The beak is large, mostly feeding on fish, strong and strong, about 10.45 cm long, with bright feathers; Many species have crowns. Legs are short, and most tails are short or medium. The head is out of proportion to the body, the beak is as long as a spear, the wings are short and round, and two of the three front toes heal at the base. The overall color configuration of kingfisher is very beautiful. From head to neck, it is dark green and shiny, covered with blue spots. From the back to the tail, it is bright sapphire blue. The wing surface is also green with blue spots, and the lower wing and abdomen are obviously orange. There is a big white spot in my throat and my feet are red. Generally, the forehead to the pillow is blue-black, with emerald blue horizontal spots, emerald blue on the back and chestnut brown on the abdomen; There are light-colored horizontal spots on the top of the head; Red mouth and feet. It looks like a woodpecker from a distance. Because the feathers on the back and face are blue and shiny, they are commonly known as kingfishers. There are three kinds of kingfishers in China: spotted kingfishers, blue-eared kingfishers and common kingfishers. The last one is very common and widely distributed. Kingfisher has a long, sharp and thick mouth, a big head, a short tail and short feet. It is a medium-sized waterside bird, which often appears near the water.

distribution range

Widely distributed all over the world. China is mainly distributed in south-central China and is a resident bird.

living environment

Kingfishers often inhabit waters with shrubs or sparse forests, clear and slow-moving rivers, streams, lakes and irrigation canals. Feeding on fish, nesting in caves on the shore or burrowing in sandbars, tropical species burrowing in termite mounds.

Living habits

Kingfisher is lonely. They usually live alone on branches or rocks near the water, waiting for opportunities to hunt. Their food is mainly small fish, but also crustaceans, various aquatic insects and their larvae, small frogs and a few aquatic plants. Low branches and reeds that often stand upright at the water's edge often rest on rocks, waiting for opportunities to prey on fish and shrimp. , so it is also called fish tiger, fish dog. Moreover, after diving into the water, the kingfisher can still keep excellent eyesight for fishing in the water, because after its eyes enter the water, it can quickly adjust the visual angle contrast caused by the light in the water. Therefore, the kingfisher's fishing ability is almost accurate, and there is no false hair.

Growth and reproduction

The breeding season of kingfishers in southern China is from April to July every year. Kingfisher can use its thick beak to build its nest on the earth cliff or in the tunnel of Tianba. These cave birds, like woodpeckers, generally have no bedding at the bottom of the cave. Eggs are laid directly on the nest. Each nest lays 6-7 eggs. The egg is pure white, bright and slightly spotted, with a size of about 28 mm× 18 mm, with 1 ~ 2 nests every year; The incubation period is about 2 1 day. Both males and females hatch eggs, but only females feed their chicks. Kingfisher's feathers are beautiful, and the feathers on its head can be used as decorations. But eating fish is not good for fishery production.

Emerald bird's nest

Demographic situation

The species of Alcedininae have narrow beaks that plunge into the water to catch small fish, and many species also prey on other small aquatic animals. Such as the common kingfisher in the eastern hemisphere and the big kingfisher in North America. Daceloninae species have wide beaks and are not often aquatic; For example, kookaburra in Australia feeds on insects, lizards, snakes and other small animals. Emerald in Southeast Asia will break snails on stones to eat their meat; After the discovery of Miyako nematodes in Henan in 2000, they have never been seen again. In some classification systems, jadeite is classified as jadeite.

Primary school textbooks

Jing Mang's Kingfisher

Text illustration Kingfisher likes to stop on the reed pole by the water, and a pair of small red claws hold the reed pole tightly. Its color is very bright. Feathers on the head are like olive headscarves, embroidered with emerald patterns. The feathers on the back are like a light green coat. The feathers in the abdomen are like auburn shirts. It is small and exquisite, with a pair of sharp and long mouths under a pair of bright and flexible eyes.

Jade birds sing clearly and love to fly against the current. In the blink of an eye, it gently stopped on the reed pole. It stared at the surface of the microwave motionless, waiting for the small fish to swim to the surface.

The little fish quietly put its head out of the water and blew a small bubble. Although it is so clever, it can't escape the sharp eyes of kingfisher. Kingfisher pushed open the reed pole, flew past like an arrow, picked up the small fish and flew away against the water. Only the reed stalks are still shaking and the water waves are still rippling.

We really want to catch a kingfisher to raise. The old fisherman looked at us and said, "children, do you know where the kingfisher's home is?" Go up the stream, on the steep rock wall. It flew here from so far away to make friends with you! "

Our faces turned a little red and dismissed the idea. When the kingfisher came, we looked at its beautiful feathers from a distance, hoping that it could stay on the reed pole for a while.