The Striking Pied Kingfisher
The Striking Pied Kingfisher: This unique spotted black and white Pied kingfisher Ceryle rudis is a widely found water kingfisher in Africa and Asia. First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, it has five subspecies and is unique to the genus Ceryle. Recognisable by its black and white feathers and hovering behaviour before diving for fish, males have a double band on their chest, while females have a single broken band. They often stay in pairs or small family groups.
The pied kingfisher was first described by Linnaeus in 1758 and found in Persia and Egypt, named Alcedo rudis. In 1828, Friedrich Boie created the genus Ceryle, derived from a mythical bird in Greek literature. The term “rudis” means “wild” or “rude” in Latin.
Description of the Pied Kingfisher
The pied kingfisher is the only species in the genus Ceryle. It is considered an early branch of the lineage leading to American kingfishers. Initially thought to have descended from an ancestral American green kingfisher that crossed the Atlantic, it is now suggested that both the pied kingfisher and the American green kingfisher may arise from an Old-World species.
Character
When perched on a tree branch, the Striking Pied Kingfisher often has a technique of bobbing its head up and down and will at times raise its tail and flick it downwards. Its calls are usually characterised with sharp chirruk chirruk notes. Unlike other kingfishers, it is quite social and forms large roosts at night.
Plumage
The medium-sized kingfisher is about 25 cm long and has a white head with a black mask and black breast bands. It has neat crests, and its upperparts are striped in black. There are several recognized subspecies, with the main type found in sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia.
Other subspecies include a larger northern bird, one from Afghanistan to Southeast Asia, a darker type from the Western Ghats, and one from Hainan, China, with a larger bill. Males and females have different breast band patterns.
Diet
The pied kingfisher is widely found in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, from Turkey to India to China. Most of these birds do not migrate, only moving short distances seasonally. In India, they mainly live on the plains, while the crested kingfisher takes over in the Himalayas. It is one of the three most common kingfishers in the world and is quite noisy.
Breeding
The breeding season for pied kingfishers in India is from February to April. They build nests in holes in vertical mud banks, about five feet above water, with tunnels that are four to five feet deep. Typically, they lay three to six white eggs, and some nests may have several birds nearby. Occasionally, young non-breeding birds help the parents. In India, nestlings can suffer from maggot and leech infestations.
Nest holes are also used for roosting. In 1947, zoologist Hugh B. Cott found that hornets were attracted to some birds but not to pied kingfishers, leading to a study on bird edibility, which wasn’t strongly supported later.
