Sacred Kingfisher

A recent sighting of a Sacred Kingfisher at Thornell’s Reserve at Longwarry North, makes a nice addition to the sightings of this species in Bellbird Park wetlands during the bird surveys.

Sacred Kingfisher Thornell's Reserve September 2020

Like the Kookaburra, the Sacred Kingfisher is a woodland bird that feeds on insects and small reptiles. Also like the Kookaburra, it normally uses tree hollows for nesting or sometimes will dig a burrow in a creek bank. Unlike the Kookaburra, and also unlike the Azure Kingfisher, the Sacred Kingfisher in this area is mostly a spring migrant – a few individuals may stay here year-round. 

Mostly solitary, they pair up for breeding

 

Often, the best means of detecting one in the bush is to listen for the very identifiable ‘kek-kek-kek-kek’ call, especially around nesting time. 

With prey - distant & heavily cropped

 

The Sacred Kingfisher is fairly widely distributed throughout the continent except for the very arid centre. Listed as a ‘secure’ species, the Sacred Kingfisher is obviously vulnerable to the clearing of forests and woodlands. Thornell’s Reserve, Bellbird Park wetlands, Roberts Ct bush, Pryor Rd, are good locations around Drouin to perhaps see a Sacred Kingfisher at this time of year.

Kingfishers were originally called King’s Fishers and although world wide there is something like 90 species, only about a third actually catch fish. Most, like the Sacred Kingfisher (and the Kookaburra), are actually branch-perching, wait-and-pounce pursuers of invertebrates and reptiles.