Note: All the traps were removed after the Video was completed.
Pied king fisher (Ceryle rudis)
It’s called as pied king fisher, it’s also called as water king fisher because you can always find them hunting near water.
Its scientific name is Ceryle rudis and it belongs to Alcedinidae family.
There are around 120 species of kingfishers in the world. Pied king fisher has 5 subspecies.
They are found in Asia and Africa.
The pied kingfisher is a water kingfisher and estimated to be one of the three most numerous kingfishers in the world
Pakistan has 5 species of kingfishers.
Length can be 9 to 10 inches. Weight is around 70 to 100g.
It has a straight rapid flight and have been seen flying at speeds of 50 km/h.
Where you are in the world you can easily identify kingfisher as all kingfishers have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails.
It’s a monogamous bird who spend most of their life with one female.
Male and female are very easy to identify.
Females have a single band that is often broken in the middle while males have a double band across the breast.
Breeding season can be from March to November depending upon the place and temperature. In some places they breed from March to May and in some places they breed from July to November.
Attracting females involves displays of dancing, which is carried out by 3 to 12 males together. Males also offer food to females over a period about three weeks. Female make pair with the male whom she likes and then spend her life with him.
They select places near water for breeding, standing water, lake water, flood aggregated water.
Its nest is a hole excavated in a vertical mud bank about four to five feet above water. The nest tunnel is four to five feet deep and ends in a chamber. They use their beak and small feet to dig mud out.
80% of the holes are fake in order to fool the predators. It is not necessary if you spot them going in a hole at day time and they are living in same hole at night time because, they there are many fake holes which will not lead to real main chamber.
It takes 28 to 32 days to build chambers. Several birds may nest in the same vicinity. Nests can be built alone or colonially with up to 100 other birds building nests in the same area.
They eat 4 to 5 times in a day and then they will rest in their chambers. Their borrows have a lot of chambers which are not straight but a bit curved upwards.
The usual clutch of 4 to 5 white shiny eggs are laid and are incubated by both parents for about 18 days. Young hatch blind, pink, and helpless. Their eyes open by the ninth day and they begin to grow feathers by the fourth day. Parental care is high and both parents are involved. The other king fishers also help in feeding the young’s.
Pied kingfishers are carnivores. They mainly eat fish, and sometimes aquatic insects and frogs.
Pied kingfishers are preyed upon by cobra, mongoose and falcons. They are also in danger by humans as they dump waste and different chemicals in water. Aquatic animals suffer and are eaten by kingfisher which can cause the death of them. Also they get tangled in the fish nets set by the fishermen.
Conservation status is least concern.
They can live up to 4 years.
.....................................................................................................................................................................Special thanks: Dr. Sundus Zahid (PhD Zoology) for identifying the specimen and providing the data for this beautiful species of this Pied king fisher.
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25 авг 2024
