Thursday, December 17, 2015

Hungry beak



Greetings. It rained all day and much of the night. That meant that all day it was wet, in a way you could feel when you went out and for a while when you got back in.

Which isn't necessarily bad. It got me thinking about water and how much life revolves around it. And this clip shows some of that. I believe the bird is a kingfisher, but am willing to listen to alternate characterizations.

2 comments:

susan said...

That was great seeing it use a piece of scrap bread to lure a fish. I didn't think he looked like a Kingfisher because he looked a bit too delicate. Then when I searched for them it turns out Kingfishers are far more varied than I guessed.

Anyhow, with a bit of further looking it turns out your bird is a Green Heron:
From a distance, the Green Heron is a dark, stocky bird hunched on slender yellow legs at the water’s edge, often hidden behind a tangle of leaves. Seen up close, it is a striking bird with a velvet-green back, rich chestnut body, and a dark cap often raised into a short crest. These small herons crouch patiently to surprise fish with a snatch of their daggerlike bill. They sometimes lure in fish using small items such as twigs or insects as bait.

Ben said...

Looking up kingfishers I saw that they tend to have long, curves beaks, which is why I thought this bird might be one. But you're right. There's an enormous amount of variety within that class.

I'm impressed you tracked down the Green Heron info. I hadn't even thought to look them up. The shoe does fit, though. :)