I find that the Blue-banded Kingfisher A. euryzona is hardest to find, being partial to clean running forest streams which are increasingly harder to come by.  The Common Kingfisher A. atthis is not that common either and it prefers the ponds and wet areas around the paddy fields.  The Blue-eared Kingfisher A. meninting seems to be seen most often, its high-pitched tseet whistle in flight giving away its presence.

I can’t decide which is my favourite, each of them so wonderful in plumage and habit.

Blue-banded Kingfisher female

Common Kingfisher

Blue-eared Kingfisher

With 50 subspecies, the Collared Kingfisher Todirhamphus chloris must be one of the most polymorphic of all bird species. It also ranges across an immense geographical area from the Red Sea to the Samoan islands. In Borneo, this resident bird is found over an impressive altitudinal range from sea level to 1500m, just outside of Kinabalu Park. In urban areas, it has adapted extremely well, seen in gardens and on electrical or telephone cables. Whatever the habitat, the bird’s harsh calls can be heard throughout the day.

Last October I took a photo of the male Rufous-collared Kingfisher Actenoides concretus at the Sepilok RDC and has been looking for a shot of the female ever since. On an extremely slow day at the Lok Kawi Zoological Park today, I got lucky and picked out this bird through a maze of vegetation. The female displays buff spots on dark green wings while the male has dark blue malar stripes and upperparts. Special thanks to my birding buddies.

Another of these wonderful forest kingfishers decided to make an appearance on an otherwise slow morning at the Sugud Recreation Forest near Kota Kinabalu. It was after I missed a single male Cinnamon Headed Pigeon which flashed across the path. This male Banded Kingfisher was much more accomodating and perched on a dried branch for all to see. It was just fantastic to watch this king when the head feathers were all puffed out making it looked like something quite different.

The previous afternoon at Sepilok RDC (in Sandakan, Malaysia) we saw a beautiful Black-Backed Kingfisher. This morning as we passed the same area again, I just said 10 points for a kingfisher. Sean took about 3 seconds and came out “I’ve got it”. We turned our binoculars into a dark patch of greenery. Sure enough there was a kingfisher. Out came the scope. That’s not just a kingfisher, that’s a Rufous-Collared Kingfisher! This fantastic forest dweller stayed long enough for this picture. That’s 20 points for you, Sean!