Nature in Our Neighborhood: The Pied Kingfisher

by April 26, 2014 Environment

 

Pic Courtesy: Girish S V

 

The Pied Kingfisher used to be a frequent visitor to the Haralur Lake before the lake was drained for renovation. While most kingfishers are predominantly blue in color, this one is black and white (referred to as Pied) and it has a very unique characteristic of hovering over the water before diving vertically into the water. Obviously this requires clear and unpolluted water for the Pied Kingfisher to make a catch.

They nest in a hole excavated in a vertical mud bank about five feet above water. We can still see a few of them in the vicinity of the lake. Let’s hope they come back once we have water back in the lake.
 
On behalf of Girish S V
 
Sections:

About Shilpi Sahu

Shilpi Sahu is a techie, running enthusiast, SWM advocate and an amateur artist, all rolled into one.
Read more by Shilpi Sahu

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Save Pulicat Bird Sanctuary: Civil society groups appeal to TN government agencies

by April 30, 2024 Environment
Voluntary organisations have urged the government to settle the claims of local communities, without reducing Pulicat Sanctuary's borders.

A collective of 34 civil society organisations and more than 200 individuals from Tamil Nadu and across the country have written to the Thiruvallur District Collector, Additional Chief Secretary of Environment, Climate Change and Forests, Chief Wildlife Warden, and the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Cell to protect the Pulicat Bird Sanctuary for ecological and social reasons and settle the rights of people without reducing the sanctuary's boundary. The voluntary groups have urged the government to initiate the settlement of claims of local communities residing in the 13 revenue villages within the Pulicat Birds Sanctuary boundary limits. Excerpts from the letter:…

Continue reading

Similar Story

Living and learning with Nature: Experiences from home

by April 30, 2024 Environment
In the fourth part of the series on ecological living, the author describes how her home was invaded by the moth caterpillars.

Part 4: The plague of the ‘asuras’ Lesson learnt: None yet for we don't know from where or rather how so many caterpillars descended on us! In the second part of the series, I described how the Muplis beetles had invaded our home. As if we didn’t have enough on our plates with the beetles turning up every year. For a few seasons we had the added joy of seeing caterpillars contend with the Muplis for the top spot of insects we never wanted to see again. And these are not butterfly caterpillars, which I discussed in the third part…

Continue reading