Malagasy kingfisher, Ivoloina park,Madagascar

Freely roaming around the lake in Ivoloina park.

This species superficially resembles the widely spread Common Kingfisher, yet the comparison falls apart in many ways when inspecting them up close. This species instead is closely related to the Malachite kingfisher seen here:

The only other Kingfisher species found in Madagascar is the super tiny Madagascan Pygmy Kingfisher:

All three share the same genus.

It's possible to get close to this bird, it just takes a long time. Take one step, wait. Take one step, wait. Each time wait until it dismisses you as a threat. In my experience, within the 5m range it tends to leave.

comments (10)

Ernst

Lion

Very special , and exiting for you to capture it. Posted 5 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks, Ernst. Wasn't the first though, in an earlier edition I got even closer and in better light:
  
  Posted 5 years ago, modified 5 years ago

Pudding4brains

Lion

Gorgeous shot Ferdy - wow! Posted 5 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks, Arp! Here's one even closer and in better light:
  
  Posted 5 years ago, modified 5 years ago
2. 1. Pudding4brains
    
    Lion
    
    Fantastic sharpness on that one, but I still like the complete scene of the one above very much - has a totally different atmosphere with the bird really "popping out" of the image ... almost a bit HDR-like ... Posted 5 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      You spotted my fraud. This image was quite dark, as there was backlight. Regular exposure changes did not fix it enough, so had to get in there with the brush to lighten up the bird to show some detail.
      
      I will cover my tracks better next time ;) Posted 5 years ago
    2. 1. Pudding4brains
        
        Lion
        
        Ahw Ferdy, that's not fraud, that's improvement - I really DO like the result! Posted 5 years ago
      2. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        Thank you :) Fraud is perhaps too strong, I'm making good use of RAW and my camera's excellent dynamic range. Yet with a super critical view, it's somewhat unnatural looking. Not HDR-fake-over-the-top, just slightly off.
        
        Glad you like it though :) Posted 5 years ago

NattyOne

Lion

Lovely one Ferdy - love the pygmy too! Posted 5 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks! Posted 5 years ago

The Malagasy kingfisher

The Malagasy kingfisher or Madagascar kingfisher is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae that is found in Madagascar, and Mayotte. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. It is closely related to the malachite kingfisher which is widely distributed in mainland Africa.

Info 13 0

Similar species: Kingfisher, Bee-eater, Rollers

Species identified by Ferdy Christant