Hubert Pak’s images of a Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) with a recently caught sunbird between its mandibles may look gruesome, but it is part of the food chain. Images of birds catching and even tearing away at a fish, for example, generally do not elicit any response from viewers. Why? Maybe because we view a bird, especially a sunbird, as pretty, cute, lovable, adorable…?
Kingfishers are not exclusively fish eaters. The take a wide range of animal foods that include worms, molluscs, crustaceans, centipedes, spiders, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals – and of course also fish. As for plant foods, kingfishers rarely, if at all, take fruits or flower nectar.
Collared Kingfisher regularly takes sunbirds LINK as well as other birds as well.
Hubert Pak
Singapore
23rd February 2019
This post is a cooperative effort between Birds, Insects N Creatures Of Asia and BESG to bring the study of birds and their behaviour through photography and videography to a wider audience.
Am
I think it’s the cannibalistic behaviour that shocks more than anything else. It’s unsettling whenever you see an animal eating another of its own kind. E.g. Imagine a human being eating another human.
Knut
Not more cannibalistic than a Human eating another animal species of the same class – such as Humans eating cows or pigs. Still shocking to see.