In North America, kingfishers fish. But in tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Australia, most of the roughly 90 species of kingfishers don’t “fish.” They hunt in woodlands, where the smaller ones, like the four-inch Pygmy Kingfisher, eat grasshoppers and centipedes. Larger kingfishers will take frogs, reptiles, small mammals, and even snakes. This Pied Kingfisher, found in Africa and Asia, does eat fish.

Did you know that Australia’s Laughing Kookaburra is a member of the kingfisher family? It has been known to dispatch snakes up to three feet in length. 

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. 

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