White-throated Kingfisher

White-throated kingfishers range from Turkey and the Middle East through the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia to China, Taiwan, and the Philippines. They occupy open woodland, farmland, wetlands, gardens, and developed landscapes, frequently living away from large bodies of water. Adults have a thick reddish-orange bill, red legs, chocolate-brown head and body, brilliant white throat, and vivid blue wings and tail. The sexes look similar, while juveniles are duller and have less intensely colored bills (Animal Diversity Web).

These kingfishers are carnivorous generalists rather than fish specialists. Their prey includes locusts, crickets, beetles, mantises, ants, termites, dragonflies, grasshoppers, crabs, scorpions, centipedes, lizards, mice, frogs, small birds, and fish. A hunting bird watches from an exposed observation post before flying out to seize prey from open ground or water. They breed seasonally, lay eggs, and produce helpless young that require parental care after hatching. Most daytime activity is solitary and territorial (Animal Diversity Web).