
The muddy haunts of Mangrove Kingfisher | Hugh Chittenden
Updated: Oct 1, 2020
At the annual Mangrove Kingfisher count along a canal in the mangroves just south of Richards Bay, a couple of interesting points came to light.
This boat trip is organized by by Bruce Nicholson (and is not for the faint-hearted!)

By choice, most Mangrove Kingfishers roost on low branches above water (winter). As soon as it gets dark, birds settle in on White Mangrove branches that just happen to be white under-leaf, affording them reasonably good camouflage.


Most birds are clean, brilliantly white below, against the darkness of the night...

... but surprisingly, some birds go to bed looking quite scruffy