As I was exploring in Huntley Meadows Park last Friday, I heard the unmistakeable rattling call of a kingfisher. After a bit of searching, I located this female Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) on a perch high above an osprey nesting platform jutting out of the water. I watched and waited and eventually kingfisher flew down from the perch in an attempt to catch a fish.
The kingfisher was successful and returned to the perch with a sizable fish. The first challenge for the kingfisher was to subdue the fish and it beat the fish repeatedly against the perch. At the same time it adjusted the fish in order to swallow the fish headfirst, in the same way that a great blue heron does. In the second image, you can see that the kingfisher has maneuvered the fish into almost the proper position.
I am a bit more used to watching ospreys and eagles consume fish, which they accomplish by tearing away pieces of the fish with their sharp beaks while holding down the fish with their equally sharp talons. Kingfishers have differently-shaped bills and talons, so they have to swallow their fish in a single gulp.
The kingfisher has little margin for error as it makes its forceful movements while balancing itself on a narrow perch high above the water. The final photo shows that mistakes can happen—the fish slipped out of the kingfisher’s bill when she lifted her head upwards to swallow it.
I am able to happily report that the kingfisher was able to fly down to the water, retrieve the fish, and eventually consume it. As always, I encourage you to double-click on the images to get a closer look at the wonderful details of the photos.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Nice action shots, Mike. He’s a beautiful bird.
Good catch, I especially like the background in these shots.
Fantastic series, Mike. And I do appreciate hearing that she was able to recover the slippery escapee with success. I espec. like the third photo where the fish is in mid-air, as it happens so very quickly that we don’t usually see this sufficiently unless a skilled photographer has captured it for us.
Thanks for your kind words, Jet. When I was taking this series of shots, the kingfisher was moving all about as it tried to subdue the fish. I was so far away that I did not realize that it had dropped the fish. It was only after the fact that I realized exactly what had happened.
Fabulous series of quality photographs, Mike! Not an easy subject in the best of conditions.
One of my all-time favorite birds.
Thanks, Wally. It is tough to get photos of kingfishers, which are small, fast, and generally skittish. I was fortunate to be able to skulk about in the underbrush undetected when the kingfisher was preoccupied with the fish.
Wonderful series.
Thanks, Louella.
Your catch was great, the kingfishers catch less…. poor devil 🙂
All creatures have to eat, but I share your sympathy for the fish.
We see these reliably in Minnesota but have yet to see one here, although there is a local relative. What a beautiful series, and a happy outcome too.
Thanks, Gary. I checked out information about the Sacred Kingfisher that is found in New Zealand and it is a really beautiful bird. It seems like most kingfishers worldwide have a similar body shape, but the colors vary greatly. I also happened to learn that the kookaburra, which occasionally is found in New Zealand, is part of the kingfisher family.
I did not know that, although their body shapes are unmistakably similar, in spite of the considerable size difference. It’s very cool to be able to add that to my factoid reserve. I’d also not heard that they are sometimes found here, but thanks to the strength of some of the winds, I can see how that could happen.
Great photo-story Mike!
Thanks, Liz.
Nice series of kingfisher behavior images, Mike. Happily for the kingfisher but not so much for the fish. 🙂
Thanks, Steve. Every creature has to eat, but, yeah, it was not a good day for that fish.
[…] Kingfisher and fish […]
Nice series, Mike.
Great action series, Mike! Glad all that work paid off for the Kingfisher; she was fortunate there wasn’t a gull or other competitor waiting for such a slip up!
Great set of shots!
Thanks, Kathy.
My first response was “Oh no!!” Then I saw as he dropped the fish it looked bloody. Probably helped him catch it the second time!
The kingfisher had been hitting the fish repeatedly against the pole to immobilize it and at a minimum the fish was stunned when the kingfisher dropped it, which made it easy to retrieve.
Violence in the bird and fish world!
I think the bill of a kingfisher is not as long and strong as that of a Great Blue Heron, which can swallow a still struggling fish.
Certainly smaller than my favorite fisher.