den: (rescues)
den ([personal profile] den) wrote2003-12-08 10:52 pm

Sacred Kingfisher

Exhausted after his migration from New Guinea. Rehab and released.



[identity profile] dabroots.livejournal.com 2003-12-08 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Not quite as fast as hummingbirds, though. Or are they?

[identity profile] dewhitton.livejournal.com 2003-12-08 02:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Only in a "plummeting" way. They perch over water and drop in to catch fish, then bounce out and fly back to the perch to eat their catch.

In the shade they're a real dull blue so you can't see them, but boy do you see them when they hit the sunlight!

[identity profile] dabroots.livejournal.com 2003-12-08 02:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Very cool. If airfare between the US and Australia weren't so incredibly expensive, I'd love to take my 8 year-old son--a great lover your region's peculiar animals--there for a visit.

[identity profile] dewhitton.livejournal.com 2003-12-08 04:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I can highly recommend Taronga Zoo in Sydney, where you'll see platypuses, and Australia Zoo near Brisbane, where you'll see a large reptile collection, crocodiles and Steve Irwin. 8)

And there's a pretty good zoo here in Dubbo. It covers 3000 acres and has free-range enclosures. I can get you up-close and personal to some animals too.

[identity profile] dabroots.livejournal.com 2003-12-08 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll keep the offer in mind. Thank you. Three thousand acres is enormous, and it sounds wonderful.