Kingfisher – Bird of the year (2009)
We would like to start our monthly published nature block with the bird of the year 2009: The kingfisher!
Kingfisher | Picture: Achim Winkler
Bird of the year is a campaign originated by the “Naturschutzbund Deutschland e. V.” and the “Landesbund für Vogelschutz in Bayern” in 1971.
Because of its iridescent blaze of colour, the kingfisher is often called “flying jewel”. Nobody having ever seen a kingfisher fish in the great outdoors can evade the fascination of the most dazzling of all our domestic birds. The kingfishers name (German: “Eisvogel” which litteraly means “Ice-bird”) can be derived from the Old High German word “eisan”, which means “iridesence” or “glazing”.
The term “iridescence bird” suits to the glittering play of colours which the bird presents sitting and flying. Its name is not derived from the word “Ice” because of his ice-blue feathers. As many kingfishers starve in winter because of frozen brooks, ice – against all consumptions – is an inveterate foe of his. His natural habitats are brooks and rivers near to nature, inviting to prey with its clean and clear waters. Being a cavity nester, the kingfisher digs holes into the earth for nesting, up to one meter in depth. For that reason it usually chooses unspoilt banks of waters. The speedy fisher is adjusted optimally to its habitat. His hunting techniques are elaborate: Nosediving into water depths of up to 60cm, it emerges with its surprised prey animal within seconds. The kingfisher can only espy its prey animal in calm and clean, maybe slightly turbid waters. In calm inlets of brooks, it achieves hit ratios of almost 100%. To learn more about the kingfisher I recommend the film “Die Die Jagd nach dem fliegenden Diamanten” by Hans-Jürgen Zimmermann. More about the film: www.naturundtierfilm.de
Tags:Kingfisher, iridescent blaze of colour, flying jewel, LBV, NABU, Bird of the Year (2009)
Leave a Comment