A special relationship


The following is a photo essay detailing stages in the life-cycle of a male White-throated Kingfisher.

When I first moved to Penang I met a pair of White-throated Kingfishers at a special site. This species is relatively common in Asia but they are usually very shy. There were three pairs in the area I was in but only one would let me get anywhere near. For seven seasons the male had three partners and they were all accepting of my presence. I was able to photograph all aspects of their lives; mating, hunting and raising the chicks. This year my kingfishers are not there...which is not surprising since their life expectancy is 6 years.


Thank you for accepting me my friend.

 PORTRAITS




 






HUNTING

















  
COURTING & MATING






NESTING





FLEDGING







Comments

  1. clar5 July 2019 at 07:27

    that bird look so cute.Nice set of photos btw.What do animals eat?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Top Jankari10 July 2019 at 23:12

    Wild Life

    ReplyDelete
  3. brotherlone18 December 2020 at 17:24

    Thank you for this post, spotted a kingfisher in my neighbourhood and it drew me to your blog, love the photography and the background stories!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The White-bellied Sea Eagles of northern Penang Island, Malaysia

Image
Introduction The White-bellied Sea Eagle is a large diurnal bird of prey that breeds and hunts near water, with fish forming the majority of its diet. The adult bird has a white head, rump and underparts, and dark or slate-grey back and wings. In flight, the black flight feathers on the wings are easily seen when the bird is viewed from below. The large, hooked bill is a leaden blue-grey with a darker tip, and the eyes are dark brown. The legs and feet are yellow or grey, with long black talons. Like many raptors, the female is slightly larger than the male. Immature birds have brown plumage, which is gradually replaced by white over 5-6 years until the adult plumage is obtained.The lifespan is 20 years and the adults weigh 1.8-4.5kg and are 66-90cm in length. The wingspan is 1.9 to 2.2 metres. The mature juveniles are a similar size to the adults. Adult Juvenile Mature juveniles from below Juvenile from above Adult from below Adult with a fish Juvenile from below Distribution White-be
Read more

Dusky Langurs. Why the orange babies?

Image
A Dusky Langur mother with her orange baby The Lutongs (lutungs), langurs or leaf monkeys are a group of Old World monkeys in the genus Trachypithecus . The name 'Lutung' from the Sundanese language means 'blackness'; and is the preferred name for members of this genus. DNA genetic analysis indicates that the ancestors of the modern species of lutung first differentiated from one another a little over 3 million years ago, during the late Pliocene, The various species alive today then diverged during the Pleistocene, presumably driven by habitat changes during ice ages. There are 20 species in the genus Trachypithecus today, listed below. The current lutung species, although living in different habitats have a number of similar habits and traits. One of these is that they mostly have orange coloured babies. This  suggests that the genes encoding orange fur in infants is an ancestral gene(s) that has been maintained because it gives each species a survival advantage in t
Read more

Black Giant Squirrels

Image
Black Giant Squirrel ( Ratufa bicolor ) A Google search will show the Black Giant Squirrel is the biggest squirrel species on our planet. It may not be the prettiest as it has to contend with the Indian Giant Squirrel (or Malabar Giant Squirrel).. Ratufa Indica ...that comes in multi-colours. Indian Giant Squirrel ( Ratufa indica )     DISTRIBUTION The Black Giant squirrel or Malayan Giant squirrel ( Ratufa bicolor ) is a large tree squirrel in the genus Ratufa native to the Indomalayan zootope. It is found in forests from Northern Bangladesh. northeast India, Thailand, Malaysia, eastern Nepal, Bhutan, southern China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and western Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Bali and nearby small islands. DESCRIPTION The Black Giant squirrel is one of the largest species of squirrel in the world. On average, an adult Black Giant squirrel weighs round 1-05-1-25 kg (2.3-2.8 lb), has a head plus body length of 34-37cm (13-15in) and the tail is 41-42 cm (16-17in) long. The sp
Read more