Colourful kingfishers

Azure Kingfisher

Last November we had a surprising appearance of an Azure Kingfisher in our garden near Strath Creek, but it was such a fleeting visit that we had no chance to get a photo. Fortunately, Ken from Alexandra, who provided the wonderful pictures of a Whistling Kite in the recent post, Kite flying, was either luckier or more patient, and managed to capture the image shown at left of this gorgeous little bird near the Goulburn River. If you ever get a glimpse of this bird in direct sunlight, as we did recently at Majors Creek near Mitchellstown, it is an absolute knock-out! The colours are extraordinarily vivid, and that’s coming from one of us who is supposed to be colour-challenged!
The Azure Kingfisher’s natural habitat is along well-vegetated waterways and it is occasionally spotted beside the King Parrot Creek. It is one of the birds that would definitely have benefited from revegetation works along the creek by Landcare and others.

Sacred Kingfisher

Ken also sent in a picture of the slightly larger and more common Sacred Kingfisher (at right). It isn’t confined to waterways, and may be seen in open woodland where it feeds mainly on small reptiles and insects. Its plumage can be variable which may be confusing for identification. Its distinctive repetitious call is often the first indication of its presence. It also has other less easily identified calls,  which can be heard by clicking on the audio bar arrowhead below.