Members of the kingfisher family are typically very confident; these predatory birds are not much preyed-upon.
Fish are not invariably their primary prey, and not all kingfishers live near rivers or lakes.
Pictured is the most ubiquitous of Asia’s kingfishers, Halcyon smyrnensis – the white-throated kingfisher.
By itself, this perky individual’s demeanour was almost enough to qualify it for inclusion in this series…
Q: so, what was the additional factor?
A: the answer, my friends, was blowin’ in the wind – this kingfisher’s deliciously-ruffled feathers.
Photo is copyright Doug Spencer, taken at 3.41 pm, 04 March 2023, in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Karnataka, India.
Click here to learn more about the white-throated kingfisher.
Musical bonus
From Bert Jansch’s 1978 LP Avocet; Bert is composer & guitarist, with Danny Thompson’s double bass, Martin Jenkins’ violin: