Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher

 The oriental dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca), also known as the black-backed kingfisher, is a tiny bird only slightly bigger than a hummingbird. They live in southeast Asia, where they inhabit evergreen and deciduous forests near streams and ponds. They stay low to the ground, where they perch and wait for prey to come close before darting out and snatching their meal. Learn everything there is to know about the oriental kingfisher, including where they live, what they eat, and how they behave. 

5 Amazing Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher Facts

• They build their nests in underground tunnels that lead to an inclined egg chamber.
• This kingfisher species has three toes!
• Their population is decreasing from ongoing habitat destruction.
• The oriental dwarf is one of the smallest kingfishers.
• They migrate at night in large flocks.

Where to Find the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher

Oriental dwarf kingfishers live in Asia in 15 countries, such as China, India, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines. Most populations are sedentary in their environments, but others in the northernmost region of their range migrate south for the winter. They inhabit forest and wetland habitats but are most commonly found in evergreen and deciduous forests. They like to live near forest streams and ponds with plenty of canopy shade. However, they keep their nests far away from water. Look for them low to the ground, where they perch and fly out to catch prey.

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher Nest

They build their nests in stream banks or soil near the roots of a fallen tree. Both sexes dig a tunnel leading to an unlined egg chamber, which they build at an incline to help with drainage from water and waste.

Scientific Name

The oriental dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca) belongs to the Coraciiformes order in the Alcedinidae family, which encompasses the kingfishers primarily found in Africa and Asia. The Ceyx genus includes the river kingfishers from southeast Asia. There are three recognized subspecies of oriental dwarf kingfisher: C. e. Erithaca, C. e. Macrocarus, and C. e. motleyi.

Size, Appearance, & Behavior

The oriental kingfisher is a pocket-sized bird and one of the smallest kingfisher species. It measures four to six inches long and weighs 0.4 to 0.7 ounces, with an unknown wingspan. Males and females are similar in size and feature the same coloring: lilac crowns, rumps, and tails, dark blue and black wings, white chins and throats, yellow-orange underparts, red legs, feet, and bills, and black forehead spots. This kingfisher species has three toes and is sometimes referred to as the “three-toed kingfisher.”

This bird is mainly solitary, preferring to forage and perch alone. However, they form monogamous pairs during breeding, and some may join large flocks during migration. Their vocalizations include loud, high-pitched shrills and softer calls when in flight. And these little birds are swift and agile when hunting prey, but their exact speed is unknown. 

Migration Pattern and Timing

These kingfishers are residents throughout most of their range. But the northernmost populations in Bangladesh and Myanmar will migrate south for the winter in Malaysia. They travel at night in large flocks from August to December.

Diet

The oriental dwarf kingfisher is a carnivore who forages alone on a low perch.

What Does the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher Eat?

Their diet consists of mantises, grasshoppers, mayflies, winged ants, water beetles, and flies. They also eat spiders, worms, crabs, lizards, frogs, and small fish. This bird is a solitary hunter that forages from a post in low vegetation, flying out to capture its prey. They may also catch insects midflight, snatch spiders from their web, and pluck fish just below the water’s surface. They take larger creatures back to their perch, striking them with their beaks before consuming them.

Predators, Threats, and Conservation Status

The IUCN lists the oriental dwarf kingfisher as LC or “least concern.” Due to its extensive range, this species does not meet the “threatened” status thresholds. Their population is decreasing but not rapidly enough to meet vulnerable levels. Clearing of their forest habitat is their biggest threat, and their decrease is likely to continue from human activity. Their other hazards include pollution, hunting, electrocution from power lines, collision, exhaustion, and starvation.

PURPLE SUNBIRD

The purple sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus ) is a small bird in the sunbird family found mainly in South and Southeast Asia but extending west into parts of the Arabian peninsula. Like other sunbirds they feed mainly on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. They have a fast and direct flight and can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird but often perch at the base of flowers. The males can appear all black in harsh sunlight but the purple iridescence is visible on closer observation or under good light conditions. Females are olive above and yellowish below.

KINGDOM

Animalia

PHYLUM

Chordata

CLASS

Aves

ORDER

Passeriformes

FAMILY

Nectariniidae

GENUS

Cinnyris

SPECIES

Cinnyris asiaticus

Appearance

This small sunbird has a relatively short bill, a dark and short square ended tail with distinctive sexual dimorphism. Less than 10 cm long they have a down-curved bill with brush-tipped tubular tongues that aid in nectar feeding. The male is glossy metallic bluish to purplish black on the upper parts with the wings appearing dark brown. The breeding male also has underparts of the same purplish black, but non-breeding males may show a central streak of black on yellow underparts. (Birds in this eclipse plumage were once designated as a species, C. currucaria.) In the breeding plumage, the male can be confused with the syntopic Loten’s sunbird which has a long bill and a distinctive broad maroon band on the breast. Breeding males will sometimes show their yellow pectoral tufts in displays. There is a patch of bright blue on the shoulder of breeding males. The maroon shine on the feathers of the collar around the neck is visible mainly during the breeding seasons.

Females are olive brown above with a yellowish underside. There is a pale supercilium beyond the eye. There is a darkish eye stripe. The throat and breast are yellow, becoming pale towards the vent. The outer tail feathers are tipped in white both in the male and female. The young are just like females in plumage, however, the males get black feathers as they become adults. They are seen in pairs or small groups and aggregations may be found in gardens with suitable flowers. They feed mainly on nectar but also take fruits and insects. Groups of as many as 40 to 50 individuals have sometimes been noted.

Habits and Lifestyle

These birds are very vociferous and will call and will join to mob owls or other predators. The song is rapid rattle followed by ringing, metallic notes. Other call notes include a “chwit” or “chwing!” notes. The primary breeding season is before the Monsoons, April to June in northern India and January to June in Sri Lanka. While feeding they flick their wings. They rarely hover at flowers and usually perch to forage for nectar. They are important pollinators of some plant species such as Butea monosperma, Acacia, Woodfordia and Dendrophthoe. but they sometimes steal nectar by slitting flowers such as Hamelia patens at the base. They are known to feed on small berries such as those of Salvadora persica and cultivated grapes. Insects are sometimes caught by flycatching.

In courtship displays the male raises his head, fans his tail and flutters with partly open wings that expose the pectoral tufts and sings before the female. The nest is a pouch made of cobwebs, thin strips of vegetation, lichens and bark. The entrance hole on the side is often shaded by an overhanging projection. The nest is built almost entirely by the female. The nest material is not woven and most of it is held together by cobwebs. About five to ten days may be taken in the building of the nest. The inner cavity is expanded by the bird by opening its wing and turning around on the inside. In Sri Lanka and in southern India, it sometimes builds its nest by modifying and lining the cobweb structures formed by colonial or ‘social’ spiders, Stegodyphus sarasinorum (Eresidae). Two eggs are usually laid. The nest is usually suspended from a low branch, often of thorny plants but are sometimes built close to human habitations, attached to wires or other man-made objects and even indoors in an unused toilet. Only the female incubates the eggs which hatch after 15 to 17 days. Males assist in feeding the chicks although females involve themselves to a greater extent, making more trips as the chicks get older.

Sunbirds have been known to live for nearly 22 years in captivity.