Animalia Life
Pelargopsis capensis
SUBFAMILY
Halcyoninae
TAXONOMY
Alcedo capensis Linnaeus, 1766, Chandernagor, West Bengal. At
least 16 subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Brown-headed stork-billed kingfisher; French: Marinchasseur
gurial; German: Storchsnabelliest; Spanish: Alciуn
Picocigьeсa.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
14 in (35 cm), 5.0–7.9 oz (143–225 g). Large kingfisher with
red bill and feet, varies from dark blue to pale turquoise above,
rufous to white below, on head and on neck.
DISTRIBUTION
India east to China, Vietnam, Philippines, Borneo, and Lesser
Sundas archipelago, including many intervening islands such as
Java, Sumatra, Andamans, and Sri Lanka.
HABITAT
Stream and river banks up to 3,900 ft (1,200 m) above sea
level, in forest, open woodland, and mangroves on the
seashore, even among plantations and paddy fields.
BEHAVIOR
Perches on snags close to or over water. Main call a series of
harsh cackling notes, uttered at perch or in flight. Spends long
periods watching for prey, sometimes slowly bobbing head or
wagging tail.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Dives into water or to the ground to capture food, then returns
to perch to soften prey. Diet mainly aquatic, such as fish,
crabs, and prawns, but also frogs, lizards, mice, and insects.
Known to catch prey flushed by otters.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Monogamous breeding pairs are aggressively territorial. Excavate
nest cavity in river bank, flat ground, rotten wood or arboreal
termitaria, rarely use natural tree hole. Nest tunnel
about 4 in (10 cm) wide, 3 ft (1 m) long, ending in 9–12 in
(23–30 cm) diameter chamber in which two to five eggs are
laid. Details of nesting cycle unrecorded.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Widespread, locally common, and occupies
wide range of habitats. Human disturbance may cause local
disappearance.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
Photo Gallery of - Stork-billed kingfisher
