TEXT BY MADELEINE VAN DER LINDEN
ILLUSTRATIONS BY KEVIN STEADLITTLE KINGFISHER
Alcedo pusilla
Length: 11.5–13cm Wingspan: 20–26cm
The little kingfisher is the smallest of
our native species. Its glossy, dark-blue
plumage flashes as it darts across
the water, hunting for small fish and
crustaceans, which are its main prey.
It lives along thickly vegetated coastal
creeks, mangroves, swamps and
rainforest streams.COLLARED KINGFISHER
Todiramphus chloris
Length: 24–29cm Wingspan: 42–52cm
Also known as the mangrove kingfisher,
it lives only along northern coastlines,
from Shark Bay, WA, to the lower
Clarence River, NSW. It prefers to eat
crabs and fish, but will eat insects,
small reptiles and nestlings of other
birds if the seafood pickings are slim.SACRED KINGFISHER
Todiramphus sanctus
Length: 20–23cm Wingspan: 29–33cm
This turquoise-green kingfisher is found
in open forests and on the edges of
lakes, mudflats and streams, as well as
in parks, golf courses and near garden
ponds. Although it feeds mainly on
insects and small reptiles, it isn’t above
pillaging goldfish from unguarded ponds.These shy, yet glamorous, birds can be
found around our rivers, coasts and
forests, and indicate a healthy ecosystem.
AUSTR ALIAN KINGFISHERS
Fa bu lou s f i she r s
K
INGFISHERS LIVE all over Australia, but
predominantly in coastal regions. We have 10
native species, including the kookaburra, which is
the largest. Kingfishers nest in tree hollows, in burrows in
riverbanks and in termite nests. They feed on small
animals, including fish, frogs, yabbies, snakes, insects and
nestlings of other birds. Cloaked in stunning green, blue,
turquoise and orange plumage, some kingfishers were
once in danger of being hunted to extinction for their
feathers. Despite their elaborate garb, these stocky birds
are tough, and hunt by darting upon prey in a flash of
colour from branches above the river or forest floor. The
kingfisher’s heavy beak is the perfect tool for despatching
victims quickly – they smack their hapless prey against
tree branches before swallowing them whole.BUFF-BREASTED PARADISE KINGFISHER
Tanysiptera sylvia
Length: 29–35cm Wingspan: 34–35cm
Despite its striking red bill and long white
tail feathers (which make up half its body length), this species is
difficult to spot in the rainforests and gullies where it lives, but
is occasionally seen in thickly vegetated gardens. It breeds in
Australia and nests in active termite mounds – flying beak-first
into the mound until it has dug a hole. Once the young are
fledged, they fly with their parents to New Guinea for the winter.