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Collared Kingfisher handling a crab

on 8th November 2008

Ng Kiah Hwa a.k.a. hawkeyes documented a Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) catching a crab and expertly handling it to eventually swallowing the crustacean. The images were taken in Penang, Malaysia on an October 2008 evening.

The Collared Kingfisher often forages around mud flats, catching mainly small crabs and other crustaceans. Sometimes it catches a fish or two or even a mudskipper. Inland, it catches insects, tadpoles, frogs and lizards.

With small crabs, the bird either bashes it to death or kills it with its powerful grip of the mandibles. It then swallows it whole, casting a pellet of the shell some time after. However, when feeding crabs to its chicks, the shell is smashed first.

Images by Ng Kiah Hwa.

This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

3 Responses

  1. Hi Kiah Hwa, I am a student from NUS working on a species webpage for the collared kingfisher. May I request for your permission to use the second image featured in the species page?

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