White-Throated Kingfisher Woes~June 11

View page: pinterest.com

The first bird I saw in the wetland that really impressed me, was the White-Throated Kingfisher. In all honesty, after the initial oo-ah how pretty phase, you realize that the bird is kind of goofy looking. It's almost like one of those playdough sets, where you make the different pieces in the mold and then mash them all together to make some kind of truly ugly creation. Your mom will pretend to like it, but she gave birth to you and has a ten year contract requiring that she think everything you do is awesome. Perhaps their underlying ugliness is why I love the White-Throated (not to be confused with the Pied Kingfisher which we will discuss later) Kingfisher so much. I, as a matter of principle, love ugly things: ugly art, ugly furniture, ugly animals, etc. Ugly things, unlike beautiful things, are interesting.

From what I can tell, the Kingfishers tend to keep to pairs. It's very sweet and I would give a kidney to see some Kingfisher babies. Unlike the Purple Moorhen however, The Kingfishers don't hang out on the water. If they land on something, it is either a stone pillar or a long piece of grass. Lately, I've only been seeing one White-Throated Kingfisher at a time. I'm a little concerned. Do birds get into fights with their significant others? Did Mrs. White-Throated Kingfisher throw a fit and leave Mr. White-Throated Kingfisher to fly around sullenly? Birding is a mostly tame hobby, but there is a certain level of dramatic interpretation possible. When you see the same birds every day, you become a little attached to them and their bird lives. I have a running hunch that the three Purple Herrons that live in the wetland are part of a book club.