The female Pied Kingfisher that I found on 31
October was still at Sabkhat Al Fasl on 6 November 32015 where Mohammed Alruqaya took
the below photographs. It can be identified as a female as it only has a single
breast band whereas males have two bands, although the second lower band is
very thin compared to the much thicker upper band. The nominate subspecies C. r. rudis that occurs from central and
southern Turkey and Israel to Syria, Iraq and southwest Iran as well as
northern Egypt, Nile Valley and sub-Saharan Africa is the subspecies present in
Jubail. These are told by their distinctive medium-size and black and white
plumage lacking any black spots on the flanks and side of the throat which is
shown by the two other nearby subspecies that are also blacker in plumage
tones. Pied Kingfishers generally use small and large lakes, large rivers,
estuaries, coastal lagoons, mangroves and sandy and rocky coasts and require
waterside perches such as trees, reeds, fences and posts. They eat
predominantly fish and regularly hover particularly so in windy conditions.
Birds fly low over the water with steady wing beats and then rise 2–10 metres
in the air, with body held nearly vertical, bill held down and wings beating
rapidly; they then dive down into the water and if successful swallow prey on
the wing without beating on branch or something similar. Birds are generally
sedentary. In non-breeding season, local movements can extend over several hundreds
of kilometres and this is probably how birds enter the Eastern Province. Most
records from the Eastern Province have been females although a bird seen and photographed
in Riyadh in recent years was a male. I hank Arnold for allowing me to use his photos on my website that remain his copyright.
