#halcyonidae

Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher (Tanysiptera sylvia)

...a beautiful species of tree kingfisher (Halcyonidae) which are endemic to the Northern Queensland coastline of Australia. Like other members of the genus Tanysiptera, T. sylvia will show an unusually Long tail with white plumes. However, like other kingfishers T. sylvia still feeds mainly on fish which hare caught via plunge diving. Small insects and other invertberates are also taken as well. Breeding for T. sylvia will occur between October and January and T. sylvia pairs are known to solely use termite mounds as nest sites. 

Classification

Animalia-Chordata-Aves-Coraciiformes-Halcyonidae-Tanysiptera-T. sylvia

Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis) Halcyonidae

A rare melanistic kookaburra in Sydney, NSW.

Halcyon Days

Photograph by Jongwoo Park

A black-capped kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) perches on a barbed wire fence in Hwachon (map), south of the DMZ. (Listen to the kingfisher's vocalizations.) "[The DMZ] was quite a dangerous place," photographer Park wrote in an email. "Landmines are all over, and I was within the maximum effective range of North Korean soldiers' rifles." But he also felt peaceful, he said, being surrounded by untouched nature.