Nature Trail – Kingfisher
OVERVIEW
Welcome to Citizen Zoo's Nature Trail! Keep searching around Kingston for more facts about our 12 species - our map can be accessed below. If you would like to support Citizen Zoo's Treasure Hunt and goal to Rewild Our Future, please consider making a donation today or becoming a member (there is further information on how to do this below).
The striking blue feathers you see on a kingfisher are actually brown feathers – this is due to a phenomenon called non-iridescent structural colouration, which means the reflections of the light we see come through as blue.
Males and females are almost impossible to tell apart, except females have an orange stripe on their lower beak.
They close their eyes as they dive into the water – meaning they fish blind!
A kingfisher pair will dig a nest tunnel into vertical, sandy river banks. The end of the nest chamber has a slight depression to prevent eggs from rolling out.
Kingfisher chicks are fed in rotation. Once a chick is fed, it moves to the back of the nest to digest its meal, leaving space for the others to move to the front.
Once out of the nest, the young are fed for only four days before the adults drive them out of the territory and start the next brood (family of birds).
2-3 broods (groups of offspring) are often raised in a breeding season.
Their beaks are aerodynamically efficient, allowing them to dive from their perch, towards their prey, with maximum speed and minimum splash. In fact, their beaks are so well designed, the front of many Japanese bullet trains are based on them.
Kingfishers eat mainly fish, chiefly minnows and sticklebacks, but they also take aquatic insects, freshwater shrimps and tadpoles.
There are 87 different species of kingfisher in the world, but only one (Alcedo atthis) breeds in Europe.
Despite their name, many of the world’s kingfishers don’t eat fish and rarely go near water.
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