A well-named bird

 Photo by Myron Tay

Stork-billed Kingfisher

(Pelargopsis capensis)

Here's a bird photo that caught my eye this week.   I'd never heard of a Stork-billed Kingfisher before.   The photo, taken by Myron Tay, showed up on WildlifeExtra.com as its 'Reader Photo of the week 13-19 October'.   Myron Tay's photograph of this resplendent Kingfisher, with a crayfish in its huge bill, was taken in Singapore.

Wikipedia photo uploaded by Dibyendu Ash

Stork-billed Kingfishers are native to the Indian sub-continent, south-east Asia and the Phillipines.   This kingfisher, with the mammoth bill, is a large bird at 14-15" long.   It is quite close in size to the widespread Belted Kingfisher (13") in North America, and the Ringed Kingfisher (16") in the Rio Grande Valley and other parts of southern Texas.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB