Thailand definitely is a good place for Kingfisher lovers. Many can be seen on phone wires along highways or near mangroves. Several occupy open woodlands and not everyone feed exclusively on fish.
The following 3 species are only found in forested areas.
This incredibly attractive male Banded Kingfisher is often heard but can be quite tricky to see inside the forest. I am not sure if it actually ever feeds on fish. I was watching it come to feed its young and all the prey were bugs, scorpions, spiders and lizzards.
I sat in a hide for 4 hours. The male only came twice during that time
But the female came a lot more often. As usual they took perch on a branch a few meters from the nest before entering. I believe the chick was about a week old.
Their nest was inside a termite nest on an old log.
This little jewel: Black-backed Kingfisher (Oriental Dwarf) on the other hand has its nest in a burrow on a bank near a stream. The birds kept feeding all kinds of insect including fish. They would come every 5 minutes to bring food. I understand that the chick left the nest successfully only 2 days later.
Outside of the breeding season I basically never see this bird. It is so small and prefers the streams of deep forests.
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The last bird is another stream dwelling bird that I found at Sri Pangnga National Park in the South. On the day I visited the chick fledged so I didn't get many shots nor watch the adults bring feed to the chicks.
Blue-banded Kingfisher
The following 3 species are only found in forested areas.
This incredibly attractive male Banded Kingfisher is often heard but can be quite tricky to see inside the forest. I am not sure if it actually ever feeds on fish. I was watching it come to feed its young and all the prey were bugs, scorpions, spiders and lizzards.
I sat in a hide for 4 hours. The male only came twice during that time
But the female came a lot more often. As usual they took perch on a branch a few meters from the nest before entering. I believe the chick was about a week old.
Their nest was inside a termite nest on an old log.
This little jewel: Black-backed Kingfisher (Oriental Dwarf) on the other hand has its nest in a burrow on a bank near a stream. The birds kept feeding all kinds of insect including fish. They would come every 5 minutes to bring food. I understand that the chick left the nest successfully only 2 days later.
Outside of the breeding season I basically never see this bird. It is so small and prefers the streams of deep forests.
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7rSQqyTtok7ip6nlqMnT8b7Zy2csvKMn89rMRITC6n6SndI1PBhjcNbYOeK4xnHFJrkfgD79nHYWTw8VANmfrQsSZulDKJmS1nIFT2PI91IZ1du06dEkMWljjnsuf5jCQbMY66LCZcsA/s1600/IMG_9846sm.jpg">
The last bird is another stream dwelling bird that I found at Sri Pangnga National Park in the South. On the day I visited the chick fledged so I didn't get many shots nor watch the adults bring feed to the chicks.
Blue-banded Kingfisher
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