Kingfishers

Kingfishers are one of my favorite family of birds.  South India and the Andaman Islands added a few more to see.

Above and below:  Perched in the same branches in the water, male and female (I think) Common Kingfishers (Alcedo atthis).

 

Above and below:  Neither photo is good.  The photo above, taken in grayish evening light, shows the structure and the large bill of the Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris).  The photo below reveals the bird's color.

I wanted to see Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopis capensis) since 2020.  Finally, on this trip I saw three.  I learned their call first and then looked up for them to be perched high in bare branches, as is the bird above.  I got lucky with the bird flying by.  It flew from its high perch then circled around and in front of me and I got the photo below.

Above:  White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnenis) common and beautiful.

The tiny Blue-eared Kingfisher (Alcedo meninting) also has a very small range in India.  In my photos there is a branch running across the well-hidden bird's face.  I selected the photos where it didn't cover the eye.  Very good bird - hard to find and nice to see.  These shots were taken from across a small body of water.

Including the Ruddy Kingfisher, we saw six different kingfishers on the trip.

Again, just because I like the photo.