1./ The Kingfisher does not eat dead prey, especially not when abundant live prey is available in the water. It is not a coincidence that the period of raising the chicks falls in this part of the season when the Tisza provides abundant amount of small fish, insects and other prey animals. On top of that, millions of mayflies fly above the water in this time.
2./ The head's position is not authentic; the Kingfisher always (!) keeps its head strait forward while swooping down the prey!
(6-7. picture)
3./ The wings' positions are unnatural. The bird navigates its accelerated body during swooping down the prey with its wings contracted, and in order to keep the momentum and balance at the and, the wings are completely aligned with the body.
(8-9. picture)
The Kingfisher is not able to catch prey from the water surface without splashing into the water. It opens its wings completely under the water only after the prey is caught, slows down, then lifts its body above the surface with strong wing-beats. Only then, during this demanding process does it stretch its wings in the position that is seen on the picture. The outer sides of the wings can even touch each other in that position. The Kingfisher never stretches its wings in such an extreme position during normal, strait flight.
It is unclear how the bird on the picture could approach the "prey" because the length of its wings is significantly bigger than the distance between its body and the water surface (the tip of the bill is 4 cm above the water surface on the picture! The tail is 2 cm above the surface, according to the reconstuction) which means the wings should have splashed into the water in their down position. There is no sign of splash; neither water drops, nor waves... The point is that the axis of the backbone is not horizontal suggesting the bird should have arrived from the water surface. It is impossible because there is no sign of that on the water surface.
We want to point out that this subspecies (Alcedo atthis) is a very specialized species among Kingfishers that is only able to catch its prey by swooping down or hovering high in the air like Flycatchers (Muscicapinae). It is unable to hover so close to the water surface, but if it tried, the water surface would not remain undisturbed.
The Kingfisher, according to scientific data and our own observations and measurements, flies in 14-18 cm altitude with an average speed of 35-55 km/h. It only moves slower during landing, otherwise it would plunge due to its body mass and the uneven patterns on the wing surfaces. Even its normal, strait flight during traveling, not when swooping down, generates small waves and interferences on the water surface. There is no sign of this on the picture...
If the bird had come from above or on a steep course, it should have appeared on the picture swooping down the prey with closed wings and straight head.
kérjük írja meg véleményét!