Blue-eared kingfisher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blue-eared kingfisher |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Alcedo
|
| Species: |
meninting
|
The blue-eared kingfisher (Alcedo meninting) is a beautiful bird found across Asia. You can spot it in places like the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. This kingfisher loves to live in dense, shady forests. It hunts for food in small streams there.
This bird looks a bit like the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). But the blue-eared kingfisher has a darker blue head and more reddish-brown feathers on its belly. It also doesn't have the reddish stripe near its ears that the common kingfisher has. Adult male blue-eared kingfishers have an all-dark beak. Females have a reddish lower part of their beak.
Contents
About the Blue-Eared Kingfisher's Name
A scientist named Thomas Horsfield first described this bird in 1821. He gave it the scientific name Alcedo meninting. The word Alcedo is a Latin word for "kingfisher." The word meninting comes from the Javanese language. It is the Javanese name for this bird. The blue-eared kingfisher is one of seven types of birds in the Alcedo group. It is most closely related to Blyth's kingfisher (Alcedo hercules).
Different Types of Blue-Eared Kingfishers
There are different types, or subspecies, of the blue-eared kingfisher. They have slight differences in their size and feather colors. Here are some of them:
- A. m. coltarti – Found in places like Nepal, northeast India, northern Thailand, and Indochina.
- A. m. phillipsi – Lives in southwest India and Sri Lanka.
- A. m. scintillans – Found in southern Myanmar and Thailand.
- A. m. rufigastra – Lives in the Andaman Islands.
- A. m. meninting – Found in the southern Malay Peninsula, Borneo, southern Philippines, and islands near Sumatra, Java, Lombok, Sulawesi, Banggai, and Sula Islands.
What the Blue-Eared Kingfisher Looks Like
This kingfisher is about 16 centimeters (6 inches) long. It looks very much like the common kingfisher. But you can tell them apart by a few things. The blue-eared kingfisher has bright blue feathers over its ears. Its upper body is a deeper, more intense blue. Its belly feathers are a richer reddish-brown color.
Young blue-eared kingfishers have reddish feathers over their ears. This is similar to the common kingfisher. But young blue-eared kingfishers usually have some spots on their throat and upper chest. These spots disappear as the bird grows up. Young birds also have a reddish beak with whitish tips.
Where Blue-Eared Kingfishers Live
The blue-eared kingfisher lives in a wide area. Its home stretches from India in the west. It goes eastward through Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Then it continues into Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
These birds usually live near pools or streams. These waterways are found in dense evergreen forests. Sometimes, they also live in mangrove areas. They prefer places that are below 1,000 meters (about 3,300 feet) in height.
How Blue-Eared Kingfishers Live
Blue-eared kingfishers usually stay in the same area their whole lives. They don't migrate far. They often sit on branches that hang over shady streams. From there, they dive into the water to catch their food.
What They Eat
Their diet includes many different things. They eat crustaceans like crabs. They also eat dragonfly larvae, which are young dragonflies. Of course, they also catch fish. Sometimes, they eat other insects like grasshoppers and mantids.
Nesting and Babies
In northern India, the breeding season is mainly from May to June. In southwestern India, it starts in January. The kingfisher builds its nest in the bank of a forest stream. It digs a tunnel about a meter (3 feet) long. Inside the tunnel, the female lays about five to seven eggs. The eggs are white and almost perfectly round.
Images for kids
-
Blue-eared kingfisher (Male) from Guwahati, Assam
.jpg)
