One of the three most common Kingfishers in the world. It is found in the Middle East, S Asia to China, Africa south of the Sahel, along the Nile river valley, Egypt, while only absent from the Horn of Africa and much of arid zone in Southern Africa. The other two are Common Kingfisher, found in Europe, N Africa and Asia and Collared Kingfisher, found in S and SE Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Hovering:

Quite remarkably the Pied Kingfisher can hover like a helicopter for a lengthy period, while searching for food prior to diving.

With this capability it is able to ‘fish’ far from areas where there are perches, e.g. at Lake Kariba it hovers to catch Kapenta up to 3 km from the shore. These fish swim close to the surface and because of their small size are devoured in the air.

It uses rapid wingbeats to generate lift, and its tail to maintain balance and position. The head points down and remains motionless.

Once it spots a fish it folds its wings back and dives headfirst into the water, often below the surface. Its success rate is normally about 1 out of 3 attempts, and even 2 out of 3 attempts in favourable conditions.

When compared to the well-known hovering bird, the Hummingbird, their sizes differ significantly. The Pied Kingfisher is about 85 grams while the Bee Hummingbird is approximately 2 grams and the Giant Hummingbird about 20 grams.

The Pied Kingfisher is one of the largest and most accomplished hovering birds worldwide.

ref;

• BirdPro Version 341.0
• Roberts Birds of Southern Africa version 71.5