Mal McCallum
Kingfishers are not well established in aviaries in WA. I have kept a pair of derelict sacred kingfishers for several years and have found them to be interesting, colourful and hardy additions to a planted or large, sunny enclosure. Mine have bred every spring, but there seems little interest in the birdo world in giving homes to my aviary-bred fledglings.
Under the terms of my permit, I can’t sell the chicks in WA, but I can pass them onto experienced aviculturists with CALM’s approval. I believe my experience provides ample evidence for the species to be recognised by the regulators as quite suitable for aviculture. Below is a summary of my observations:
The sacred kingfisher (Halcyon sancta) is the most widespread kingfisher in Australia and probably as common, ‘though not as prominent and obvious as the kookaburra (which is a feral introduction to WA). Australia has ten representatives of the 80 Alcedinidae species, of which only 2 are “true fishers”. These have only 3 toes and are restricted to wetland or riverine habitats. The ‘sacred’ is one of the “bush kingfishers”, which have 4 toes, longer tails and can range a long way from water, exploiting a lot more insects and small reptiles in their diets. Kookaburras, of course, are nest robbers and bird killers as well.
The sacred kingfisher is only a small bird (to 20cm long) with a deceptively slight build. They are sea-green to blue above, except for a pale collar and eye stripe. Undersides are off-white to tan. The beak is black above and bone colour below accounting for over 1/2 the total head length. The tail accounts for about 1/3 of the total body length.
In good sunlight, these birds are quite striking, especially on the wing. Although there is no mention of sexual dimorphism in the literature I’ve found so far, my hen is predominantly sea green, but the cock is definitely blue - his colours intensifying during spring. The progeny also display this range of coloration, but I haven’t been able to follow - up my theory that it is an indication of sex. Juvenile plumage includes understated, dark barring on the breast.
Sacreds are fairly quiet most of the time, and when they do get a bit vocal at mating time, it is a pleasant sound, familiar to anyone who has been bushwalking in the Australian summer. Their courtship and feeding behaviours are interesting to observe, and some can become quite tame, although this capacity seems to vary considerably between individuals.
In the wild, these birds frequent open woodland, where grasshoppers seem to be their staple diet. They appear around Perth during spring and, after raising 1 or 2 clutches of chicks, disappear before the end of summer back to the Kimberley, Indonesia and New Guinea. This migration is not an indication of cold intolerance, but exploitation of a seasonal food resource. Captive birds, fed appropriately, are quite content with a sedentary lifestyle.
They like to keep a safe distance in an aviary so they need an escape zone of at least 4m from threatening humans. Although quite robust little birds, they fly very fast in straight lines when they panic and can easily suffer cere or neck damage from collisions with aviary netting. This is especially likely if more than one person enters the enclosure and they feel surrounded. Hawks and crows don’t seem to worry my pair very much, but they freeze in terror at the sight of a kookaburra. I would suspect that these and arboreal reptiles would be their main predators in their natural habitat. Their reliance on coming to the ground for food also makes them susceptible to attack from domestic cats.
Although they are not dependent on thick cover or water, kingfishers love to bathe and look happiest in a large planted aviary with a water feature. I can guarantee you won’t get a population explosion of fish or tadpoles in your pond. Any small mice or cockroaches venturing out during the day don’t last very long either.
Activity and appetite increase in early spring, and a pair defends their nesting territory. Other kingfishers will be driven away or killed. There seems to be negligible interaction between these birds during the rest of the year (February to August). Presumably they lead a solitary lifestyle that time of year. Nestsites around Perth are used year after year by summer visitors which suggest that pair-bonding is long lasted. I don’t know if the pairs stay together during the migration and off season, or if they just meet up at the same place, same time. Kingfishers hunt by sight, and their vision is exceptionally good, even in dim light. In summer, they are particularly alert and active around dusk.
Sacred kingfishers will take a variety of food once they learn to recognise it. Minced beef doesn’t have all the vitamins and roughage they need and, because they always “kill” their food after catching it, mince ends up sprayed all over the aviary. Likewise, if fish is offered daily, it turns into white paint after it’s gone through the birds. My pair do well on a diet mainly consisting of lean ox heart cut into strips the size of frozen beans. This is supplemented with big cockroaches, baby mice and any grasshoppers I can catch (my young nephews seem to enjoy that activity much more than I do).
They also relish bait fish, small prawns and mealworms, but these are expensive, and the birds easily get spoilt and fussy if the special treats aren’t rationed.
They need roughage to keep their guts working well and producing healthy pellets to regurgitate. They will take artificial insectivore diets, but they are naturally bashers & gulpers rather than sitters & nibblers. The persistent vigour of my birds suggests to me that I’ve got the mix right.
Food is offered in a bowl with some water in it (protection from ants) on the ground in the morning. You can tell by residues and how keen they are to feed, whether or not the amounts are adequate. Intake varies considerably during the year, and several feeds a day are necessary when there are chicks to consider. It’s good to keep them interested with a variety of food, but I never offer any greeblies unless I’m 100% sure they’re not toxic (either naturally or with pesticide residues). The feed bowl also needs regular cleaning to avoid bacterial infection.
When the hen comes into breeding condition, she will seduce the cock bird by begging for food and attention with a pathetic, 2 syllable cackle which sounds a bit like a clucky chook. Egg laying commences within a few days of onset of this courtship behaviour. Hen acts helpless; cock feeds hen, cock mates hen, hen lays egg. The eggs are white, round and quite large for such small birds. Anything between 3 & 6 eggs are laid (1 every 2nd day) until incubation commences.
In the wild, sacreds lay in cavities excavated from active termite nests in the low branches or forks of gum trees.. A lovebird nest box with sawdust/peat litter is quite acceptable for the birds and probably preferable for aviculturists. Avoid deep boxes or the possibility of competition for nest sites. The birds get quite possessive of their nestbox and will seek out the same one every year, even if it’s moved around.
Incubation is less than 3 weeks and food demands increase rapidly as the chicks grow. Small portions, such as mealworms are essential for the chicks when they are small. Any runts in the clutch usually disappear, and I haven’t figured out if it’s their parents or siblings that eat them! The parents are quite tolerant of nest inspections, and the litter may need changing if it becomes putrid.
The chicks are blind and naked for the first couple of weeks, then develop a formidable covering of pin feathers around the time their eyes open. This stage is very short, with the ‘porcupines’ turning into fledglings almost overnight. Parents continue to feed the young ones for another couple of weeks until they are independent. Unless it is already well into summer by then, the breeders may well want to nest again, so the juveniles must be removed or they will be attacked.
Although their bills can be intimidating weapons, sacred kingfishers are inoffensive towards other birds and just seem to mind their own business. My birds are housed in a large, mixed aviary with finches, wrens, small lorikeets and eastern king parrots. I’ve also had hooded parrots, rosellas and large lorikeets in that aviary (at different times), and never had any bullying or antisocial feasting .
Having said that, I have heard of sacred kingfishers taking chicks, though my finches breed freely in that aviary and I haven’t observed it myself. I think they’re too lazy to chase or search for extra morsels if their diet is adequate, but I wouldn’t take chances with little chicks that scuttle around on the ground like emu wrens or quails. They may be too much of a temptation!
The only problems with keeping sacred kingfishers probably apply to most softbills in WA:
· They are not readily available;
· You have to have special permission to keep them;
· You can’t keep a flock of them and;
· They need daily feeding of a special diet.
The other thing is that they spend a lot of time sitting around looking dumb. But at least they do that out in the open where you can see them. They still appeal more to me than some of the secretive little things that hide all the time. They’re something a bit different anyway.
Copy Right Softbill Group of WA (C) 2000-2007