Collared kingfisher

Location: Tg Balau. Date Nov 2011

Shot at Tg Balau. It took two days for me to follow and observe this catch. Very friendly to me and I can event get closer  at approximately 15 feet from the subject. 

First day shot

Second day shot

The Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the family Halcyonidae. It is also known as the White-collared Kingfisher or Mangrove Kingfisher. It has a wide range extending from the Red Sea across southern Asia and Australasia to Polynesia. It is a very variable species with about 50 subspecies.

The Collared Kingfisher is 22 to 29 cm long and weighs 51 to 90 grams. It varies from blue to green above while the underparts can be white or buff. There is a white collar around the neck, giving the birds its name. Some races have a white or buff stripe over the eye while others have a white spot between the eye and bill. There may be a black stripe through the eye. The large bill is black with a pale yellow base to the lower mandible.

Females tend to be greener than the males. Immature birds are duller than the adults with dark scaly markings on the neck and breast. Small crabs are the favoured food in coastal regions but a wide variety of other animals are eaten including insects, worms, snails, shrimps, frogs, lizards and small fish. The bird perches almost motionless for long periods waiting for prey. When it spots something it dives down to catch it and then flies back to the perch where larger items are smashed against the branch to subdue them. Any indigestible remains are regurgitated as pellets.