Stork-billed Kingfisher

Massive kingfisher with a large scarlet bill. Head is olive-brown with dark green-blue upperparts and buff underparts. Wings and tail bluer, with rump even paler blue, obvious in flight. Juvenile has dusky edges to feathers of breast and hindneck. Vocal in breeding season, giving a loud, far-reaching “peu-peu-pow” whistle, while its regular contact call is a loud laughing “ka-ka-ka” repeated 6-10 times. Prefers large streams, rivers, and the edges of large water bodies with vegetated banks.

The stork-billed kingfisher in Sri Lanka lives in well-wooded habitats near rivers, lakes, and coasts.

In Sri Lanka, the Stork-billed Kingfisher primarily eats fish, crabs, frogs, rodents, and occasionally young birds. This species is known to hunt both in freshwater and marine environments, perching on branches near water to dive down and catch prey.