White Throated Kingfisher
Perched 20 mts away from the pond near our kitchen. How many predatory birds trumpet their presence? How many of them are brightly colored and not camouflaged in dull brown or grey color? Not many I know of. That is precisely the reason I think this one is called what it is- KINGFISHER! Kingfisher equally inquisitive of me taking the picture. Gifted with bright blue wings and back, an ochre body, sharp long orange beak , this medium sized bird can never go unnoticed in any of its visits to my backyard. For it annunciates its arrival with a loud – Kil…kil…kil..kil. The call is so loud and clear, that it is easy to know which part of the garden it has flown to. No wonder it is called ‘kilkila’ in hindi. An onomatopoeic name. On our mango tree next to the lily pond. Unlike most of the birds, this one is not so shy. Even in presence of humans, they prefer to continue with their business. Hence, I have been fortunate to observe them hunt on plenty of