Newsletter / Blog
2011-12-16 The endangered White-collared Kingfisher threatened.
The White Collared Kingfisher - Todiramphus chloris kalbaensis –
is a small kingfisher with a population of 55 pairs or less. These are almost
entirely restricted to Khor Kalba in the UAE and two small sites in Oman. They live
in the mangrove forests at these three sites. If the mangroves vanish so does
this beautiful kingfisher which is considered an essential part of the UAE's
natural heritage.
Description
A small
kingfisher, with blue/green upperparts, a white collar around the neck. The bill
is black with a pale yellow base to the lower mandible. Females tend to be
greener than the males. Immature birds are duller than the adults with dark
scaly markings on the neck and breast.
Call
The most typical
call is loud, harsh and metallic and is repeated several times.
Food
Small crabs are
the favored food in coastal regions but a wide variety of other animals are
eaten including insects, shrimps, fish, worms, snails and frogs. The bird
perches almost motionless for long periods waiting for prey. When it spots
something it dives down to catch it and then flies back to the perch where
larger items are smashed against the branch to subdue them. Any indigestible
remains are regurgitated.
Breeding
The birds nest
between February and June, using holes and cracks in aged mangroves to build
their nests, either a natural tree hole or a hole excavated by the birds
themselves in an old tree. Two to five rounded whitish eggs are laid. Both
parents take part in incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks. The young
birds leave the nest about 44 days after hatching.
Conservation Status – Endangered
That first survey
in 1995 was carried out by the late Simon Aspinall, an environmentalist and
bird specialist who estimated between 44 and 55 breeding pairs lived in the
Kalba mangroves. This spring, a survey of the area carried out by Oscar
Campbell, Ahmed Al Ali and Neil Tovey estimated the number of pairs was between
26 and 35. The reason the numbers of collared kingfishers are declining is that
the condition of the mangrove trees supporting it is also declining. Development
and the construction of the Corniche have been harming the forest. Some
mangroves were destroyed to make room for villas and a new road. These birds
need high-quality mangroves. In the last 20 years, the area of mangrove has
decreased by up to 30 per cent due to development and now covers an area of
about 6 square kilometers.
Bird
watching
These beautiful Kingfishers can
be seen the coastal mangrove forest
of Kalba, an enclave in
Sharjah, UAE. |