Bernard Seah’s image of a Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) landing outside its nesting hole was photographed at Singapore’s Japanese Garden (below).
On another occasion, the Collared Kingfisher was photographed with a frog firmly clamped between its mandibles (below). From the appearance of the prey, the kingfisher must have spent some time bashing it against its perch before positioning it ready for passing to the chick headfirst.
As Bernard rightly says, “As in most birds that practice quick drop feeding, the Collared Kingfisher feeds its babies with food positioned to be received by the mouth and swallowed immediately.”
“See how the parents (like kingfishers, swallows) take the effort to catch, kill, position the food for the split second drop, so the babies don’t have to fumble to reposition the food or choke… probably to also prevent them from fighting each other in the nest since the food is delivered fast and consumed faster.”
Two earlier posts list a menu of foods brought to the nest of the Collared Kingfisher – HERE and HERE. Both lists do not include a frog.
Bernard Seah
Singapore
6th August 2016
This post is a cooperative effort between Birds, Insects N Creatures Of Asia and BESG to bring the study of birds and their behavior through photography and videography to a wider audience.
One Response
Fantastic shot! Congratulations!