| Actual Image
Certainly its a King... (26)
gannu
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 917 W: 4 N: 2282]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif) (10648) | The only nit in the photograph is the wire coming under the bird. But I just could not avoid as I found the bird while driving back home. It was at 1117 in the morning at 40degree temp found difficult. But thought perhaps to put it as natural and nature photograph.
Kingfishers are birds of the three families Alcedinidae (river kingfishers), Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers), and Cerylidae (water kingfishers). There are about 90 species of kingfisher. All have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. They are found throughout the world.
The etymology of kingfisher is obscure; the term comes from king's fisher, but why that name was applied is not known.
The taxonomy of the three families is complex and rather controversial. Although commonly assigned to the order Coraciiformes, from this level down confusion sets in. The kingfishers were traditionally treated as one family, Alcedinidae with three subfamilies, but following the 1990s revolution in bird taxonomy, the three former subfamilies are now usually elevated to familial level. That move was supported by chromosome and DNA-DNA hybridisation studies, but challenged on the grounds that all three groups are monophyletic with respect to the other Coraciiformes. This leads to them being grouped as the suborder Alcedines.
The tree kingfishers have been previously given the familial name Dacelonidae but Halcyonidae has priority. This group derives from a very ancient divergence from the ancestral stock.
Kingfishers live in both woodland and wetland habitats. Kingfishers that live near water hunt small fish by diving. They also eat crayfish, frogs, and insects. Wood kingfishers eat reptiles. Kingfishers of all three families beat their prey to death, either by whipping it against a tree or by dropping it on a stone.
They are able to see well both in air and under water while swimming. Their eyes also have evolved an egg-shaped lens able to focus in the two different environments.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Suborder: Alcedines
Technical Data
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Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows
Exposure Time: 1/1000
F-Stop: f/8.0
ISO Speed Ratings: 200
Focal Length: 300/1 mm
Date Taken: 2008-04-13 11:17
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
File Size: 137 kb
Thanks for looking and have a great weekend.
Rgds
Ganesh |
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