| Common Name : | Black capped kingfisher. |
| Binomial Name : | Halcyon pileata |
| Family : | Halcyonidae |
| Bengali Name : | Kalatupi / Kalotupi machhranga ( |
| Photo Taken : | Bangladesh |
Our today's bird is Black-capped kingfisher and it has the Bengali name is Kalatupi or Kalotupi machhranga (
All the kingfisher birds are in generally known as 'machhranga' here in Bangladesh. Most of them are not having any local or traditional Bengali name. That's why for the academic purpose or record purpose we have given them a meaningful Bengali name. Though I have doubt whether our villagers or local people could recognize the birds by those meaningful names!
Black-capped kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) is a medium sized kingfisher that is very beautiful with lovely color orientation. Both male and female birds are similar. The most prominent color of the bird is blue on the wings, but it has lot of other colors on it. The upper side of wings and tails are bright blue in color. The wings are also having a touch of black.
The head is totally black in color (that's why the bird got such name). It has a visible white collar under the head and eventually that separates the black and blue. Front side of the bird is orange and pale orange in color and the throat is white and joined with the collar. This kingfisher is having a large bill that is having bright red in color. Color of the legs are also bright red. Call of the bird is loud ki-ki-ki-ki-ki.
In this picture the bill is partially opened.
The distribution of this Black-capped kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) is interesting. They are mostly found around the coastal line or near the mangrove forests. That's why I do not encounter this kingfisher often during my travelings. As an expert fish hunter this bird mostly diet on the fishes. But it doesn't mind to prey on the other invertebrates like the caterpillars, crabs, or large insects.
Similar to the other kingfisher birds they also make their nests on the riverbank by digging the holes. Both male and female use to prepare the nest.
View of the bird from the back side.
In some countries the bright blue feathers are having a high value. They use to ornate the female garments with those feathers. Otherwise this bird is not facing any other threats which can mark it as an endangered species.
Photos of Black-capped kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) were taken from Bangladesh as mentioned below:
1. December 2014: Sonarchor, Patuakhali.
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icbird.blogspot.com/
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