KingfisherAugust 30, 2009
 


The kingfisher is a blue-gray and white bird about the size of an American robin but having a much big head and tiny feet.

The kingfisher (or, more formally, the belted kingfisher) excels at diving into water and catching fish. After the catch, the kingfisher has to maneuver the fish just the right way in order to swallow it.

The male kingfisher, below, is relaxing on the branch of a dead tree by the Toftrees pond.
 

Male belted kingfisher

 
An oddity in the bird world, the female kingfisher is more colorful than the male. She has a reddish belt. Here, she's landing on a different dead tree.
 
Female belted kingfisher, landing

 
The final photo of a female kingfisher is, I suppose, a complement to the first.
 
Female belted kingfisher
 
  Both male and female kingfishers were relaxing in the same relative area but over a year apart in terms of real time.

Photo note: I used a Pentax *1st D for the first photo in April 2008 and the K200D in August 2009 for the second two (both with the SMC 1000mm reflex lens).



My Pennsylvania bird list

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