The Colourful And Lovely Kingfisher Bird

There are about 90 species of kingfishers.Usually kingfishers have a large head, long bills which are sharp and pointed, short legs and stumpy tails. Without exception between the sexes all have very bright colored feathers.
Kingfisher's main prey is fish. But they consume a wide range of prey. King fisher's usually swoop down from a perch and catch fish.

Most kingfishers species live in the eastern hemisphere. In the western hemisphere there are only six species of king fishers. Out of these six species three are of North America.

Kingfishers are lonely birds. Kingfishers' food consist of amphibians, crustaceans and water insects.

Most species of eastern hemisphere kingfishers don't fish.

The wood king fisher's also known as forest king fisher's chose to stay far from water. The fishing kingfishers live close to water and nest in burrows dug in river banks or creek banks.
Kingfishers use their long, sharp beaks to dig their nesting burrows and with their feet they push the mud out of the burrows. The king fisher is supposed to be one of the most beautiful birds in the world.

Trogons are said to be the closest relatives of kingfishers. Kingfishers are found in all parts of the world, except the Polar regions and some of the world's driest deserts.

However the red backed kingfisher of Australia lives in the driest deserts. Some kingfisher species live high in mountains or in open jungles.

A large number of species live on tropical coral atolls.

The African dwarf kingfisher which averages at 10.4g and 10cm is the smallest species of kingfishers.

The chief species of kingfisher is the giant kingfisher at an average of 355g and 45 cm. The used to Australian kingfisher is known as the laughing kookaburra.
The kingfishers have exceptional vision. They have restricted movement of their eyes within the eye sockets.

King fishers are supposed to be fearful birds. The sacred king fisher was acclaimed by the Polynesians, who believed it had control over the seas and waves. Read more Alarm Fredericia

The Dusun people of Borneo consider the oriental dwarf kingfisher a bad omen. A number of kingfisher species are considered threatened by human activities and are in peril of extinction.

The majority of these are forest species with limited circulation. They are threatened by locale loss caused by forest clearance or degradation and in some cases by made known to species.