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WORDS OF<br />
A FEATHER<br />
The Legendary<br />
Kingfisher<br />
by HEATHER SHIRLEY<br />
Photos by OLEG GURVITS<br />
“C hit-chit-chiterree-chit-chit!”<br />
The rattling call of a kingfisher<br />
skips over the morning and brings a smile to<br />
my face. I look across the lagoon behind my<br />
house and see a male belted kingfisher perched<br />
on the branch of a cypress tree that is leaning<br />
over the water.<br />
The steel-blue and white bird surveys his<br />
kingdom. He watches the surface of the pond,<br />
then launches himself into the air, flying<br />
straight and fast before stopping midair to<br />
hover over some ripples in the water.<br />
He dives in with eyes closed, barely making<br />
a splash and spreads his wings underwater to<br />
break his dive. Surfacing with a fish pinched<br />
in his ample, dagger-like bill, he returns to his<br />
perch, knocks the fish against the tree branch<br />
to stun it, tosses it into the air then swallows it<br />
down, head first. Belly full, he seems content to<br />
rest for a moment, enjoying the beauty of the<br />
surroundings and the warmth of the morning<br />
sun.<br />
It’s not hard to understand why these birds<br />
have long inspired myths and legends. Ancient<br />
Polynesians believed kingfishers controlled the<br />
sea and waves. The ancient Greeks also told a<br />
myth about the kingfisher.<br />
Halcyon, the daughter of the god of the winds,<br />
and her husband, Ceyx, the son of the morning<br />
star, were deeply in love. Unfortunately, they<br />
offended the gods and as punishment were put<br />
to death. The gods relented and reincarnated<br />
the couple as a pair of kingfishers. Their love<br />
continued, and as kingfishers they laid a nest.<br />
The Greeks believed kingfishers laid their<br />
eggs on the surface of the sea only during those<br />
rare times of year when conditions were warm<br />
and calm. Thus, that magical and elusive time<br />
became known as halcyon days, named for the<br />
wind god’s ill-fated daughter. To this day, those<br />
precious, deliciously perfect days of warmth<br />
and calm are referred to as halcyon days, and<br />
kingfishers continue to represent them.<br />
There are more than 80 species of kingfishers<br />
in the world. The smallest is the African pygmy<br />
kingfisher, a mere 4 inches long, which dwells<br />
in African rainforests. On the other end of the<br />
38 LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS <strong>Memorial</strong> <strong>Day</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
spectrum is Australia’s laughing kookaburra<br />
which, at 19 inches, is the world’s largest<br />
kingfisher.<br />
In North America, we have four species:<br />
ringed, green, Amazon and belted. The first<br />
three are really Central American species that<br />
are occasionally seen in southern border states<br />
like Texas and Arizona. The belted kingfisher,<br />
however, can be seen across most of our<br />
continent for at least part of the year.<br />
Belted kingfishers live in New Jersey yearround<br />
as long as there is open water for them<br />
to fish in during winter. Kingfishers eat many<br />
species of small fish as well as crustaceans,<br />
invertebrates, insects and even berries. These<br />
birds are easily recognized by their stocky<br />
builds, shaggy crests and large bills.<br />
The male is two-toned, grayish blue and<br />
white. The female is more colorful than the<br />
male, which is rare in the avian world. She is<br />
similarly blue and white but also has a chestnut<br />
band across her belly and down her flanks.<br />
Kingfishers nest not on the water’s surface, as<br />
the ancient Greeks mistakenly believed, but in<br />
burrows they dig into earthen banks.<br />
Males establish a territory at the start of<br />
breeding season and court females by feeding<br />
them. Once paired up, they select a nest site.<br />
They prefer a bank of earth that’s both high<br />
enough to avoid the danger of flooding and<br />
is clear of tree roots that would make digging<br />
too challenging. If these ideal conditions aren’t<br />
available, kingfishers may build nests in road<br />
cuts, ditches or sand or gravel pits.<br />
Using their large, strong bills and specialized<br />
front claws, which are fused together for<br />
added strength, both the male and female<br />
birds excavate the nest burrow. Quite a feat of<br />
engineering, the burrows are typically 3 to 6<br />
feet long and slope upwards from the bank’s<br />
edge so that any rainfall drains out.<br />
At the end of the burrow is a nest chamber,<br />
where the female lays five to eight eggs. After<br />
three weeks of incubation and another month<br />
of nestling development, the chicks finally<br />
leave the nest.<br />
And then, thanks to hard work by the parents<br />
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Belted kingfisher<br />
in flight<br />
Belted kingfisher, female<br />
Scan the QR code to<br />
hear what a belted<br />
kingfisher sounds like.<br />
as well as the ongoing cycle of nature, the<br />
world is blessed by having a few more belted<br />
kingfishers.<br />
Have you seen any yet this year? Spotted any<br />
nest burrows? Why not go look for some along<br />
streams, rivers, ponds or lakes that are clear and<br />
unclouded (and therefore better for seeing prey<br />
in the water).<br />
Look for kingfishers on perches hanging over<br />
the water, like bare tree branches or telephone<br />
wires. Listen for their metallic, rattling call.<br />
As you seek them out, bear in mind one final<br />
legend about the kingfisher that is worth<br />
sharing, if for no other reason than it’s my<br />
favorite: only the righteous get to see them.<br />
Are you worthy? Go find out. Get out there,<br />
enjoy the halcyon days of early summer and go<br />
birding!<br />
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