Collared Kingfisher Still Present After Three Months, Over the New Year (video)
The Collared Kingfisher that appeared on Ishigaki Island last October has safely made it through the new year and is wintering in good health. Watching from the bridge is fine, but if you walk along the farm road to get a closer look it flies off in an instant. Once it disappears, it can be hours before it shows again. I recommend approaching by vehicle. However, in an ordinary passenger car the seat is too low to see into the channel, so rent a minivan, kei truck, or kei van!!
On this day it caught centipedes and mudskippers (Periophthalmus modestus). Prey items confirmed so far are: crab, hermit crab, centipede, and mudskipper. The Collared Kingfisher that wintered at Manko Wetland on Okinawa Island between August 2017 and April 2018 was only ever seen taking crabs, but it seems that in a different habitat the bird takes a wider variety of prey.
A Collared Kingfisher that caught a centipede. Ruddy Kingfishers, Crested Serpent Eagles, and Blue Rock Thrushes all seem to be very fond of centipedes.
After the centipede, it caught a Mudskipper. The prey's expression was one of despair….
It has been three months since the Collared Kingfisher arrived on Ishigaki. The moult on the head and back seems to have progressed a little.
When observed from the car it shows no wariness at all, fluffing up its feathers and looking relaxed.
A Collared Kingfisher flushed by a birder approaching on foot. T1 and T2 of the tail feathers appear to be in moult.
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