It’s been a good season for Sacred Kingfishers and post Xmas I’ve observed a number of juveniles in the local bush.
Sacred Kingfishers tend to be wait and pounce hunters, a technique that I saw this one use a number of times from nearby perches. The dirty bill on the fourth image was the result of a foray to snare a frog (I suspect) from the edge of the dam.
One one occasion though it expertly chased a dragonfly, weaving in a series of sharp turns over the water, in what proved to be an unsuccessful pursuit.
Juvenile Sacred Kingfishers are typically darker-scaled below than the adults with buff-scaling on the forehead and crown – otherwise they look very much like their parents. This species will be with us for a few weeks more before migrating north in mid-autumn.
Sacred kingfisher (juvenile) with dragonfly, South German Track, 6th February 2021
II
III
Clean bill
Not so clean bill
Mistletoe backdrop
