Sacred Kingfisher

The signature ‘kek-kek-kek…’ call of the Sacred Kingfisher is being heard pretty consistently in this corner of Gippsland at present. There have been sightings at three locations at least within urban Drouin and the old Drouin Nature Reserve and Archery Club site in Pryor Rd on the edge of town are other places the birds have been seen and heard. There is at least one pair at Thornell’s Reserve in Longwarry North. 

 

The Sacred Kingfisher is a woodland migrant. It feeds on insects and small reptiles caught in flight and on the ground. It mostly uses tree cavities for nesting.

 

Sacred Kingfishers are acrobatic fliers as they weave their way through the trees, their turquoise and buff plumage flashing as they twist and turn. They will often use a suitable ‘lookout perch’ in a regular pattern, returning to it to devour their prey after each sortie.

 

This bird has chosen a small hollow in an old mistletoe haustorium for its nest

 

The Sacred Kingfisher is fairly widely distributed throughout the continent except for the very arid centre. Despite being a bird not often seen by many observers, it is estimated to be a very secure species and its numbers do not appear to be declining. This seems a little strange as woodland habitat is disappearing in many places.  

 

Kingfishers were originally called King’s Fishers and although world wide there is something like 90 species, only about a third actually catch fish. Most, like the Sacred Kingfisher (and the Kookaburra), are actually branch-perching, wait-and-pounce pursuers of invertebrates and reptiles.