Figure 2 - uploaded by Martin Čech
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Examples of non-fish prey remains found in the diet of Kingfishers Alcedo atthis. (a) Newt Triturus sp. - lower jaw. (b) Lizard Lacerta sp. – lower jaw. (c) Spiny-cheek Crayfish Orconectes limosus – claw and fragment of rostrum. (d) Great Diving Beetle Dytiscus marginalis larva – head with large mandibles from ventral view. (e) Common Club-tail Gomphus vulgatissimus larva – labium with massive palpal lobes from the top view. (f) Water Boatman Corixa sp. – paddling 3rd leg (found in an individual pellet of Kingfisher on 14 March 2014, Blanice River). Photo: M. Čech (a-d), F. Weyda (e, f).
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Capsule Non-fish prey constitutes an important component of the diet of many fish-eating birds.Aims In the present study, the role of non-fish prey in the diet of the Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis was evaluated.Methods The species and size spectrum of prey in the diet was studied at 15 nest sites on 6 trout streams, 1 river and 1 reservoir in the...
Similar publications
The diet of common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) was evaluated using the data from studies available on Web of Science TM Core Collection (WoS), from foreign studies out of WoS and via analysis of photographs available on Google.com. A special attention has been paid to a non-fish prey (occurrence and proportion in the diet, species spectrum, habitat...
Citations
... The majority of the diet of the Eurasian kingfisher is freshwater fish (Raven, 1986;Reynolds & Hinge, 1996). However, other prey items are occasionally taken including aquatic invertebrates and amphibians such as the pool frog Rana esculenta, fire-bellied toads Bombina sp., and newts (Čech & Čech, 2015;Novčić & Simonović, 2018), although such instances are apparently rare (Fry & Fry, 2010;Čech & Čech, 2015). When diving for prey, kingfishers usually reach depths of less than 25 cm, and on removal from water the prey is beaten head first on a hard surface until subdued, after which they are swallowed head first (Fry & Fry, 2010). ...
... The majority of the diet of the Eurasian kingfisher is freshwater fish (Raven, 1986;Reynolds & Hinge, 1996). However, other prey items are occasionally taken including aquatic invertebrates and amphibians such as the pool frog Rana esculenta, fire-bellied toads Bombina sp., and newts (Čech & Čech, 2015;Novčić & Simonović, 2018), although such instances are apparently rare (Fry & Fry, 2010;Čech & Čech, 2015). When diving for prey, kingfishers usually reach depths of less than 25 cm, and on removal from water the prey is beaten head first on a hard surface until subdued, after which they are swallowed head first (Fry & Fry, 2010). ...
... Kingfisher diet was fish-based, which is consistent with results from other areas in Europe (Iribarren & Nevado 1982, Isoti & Consiglio 2002, Čech & Čech 2015, Vilches et al. 2019. In our study area only five species of fish were found in the diet (33.3% of the 15 possible species), which contrasts markedly with other areas of Europe, where during the breeding season 27 species were recorded in Czech Republic (from 16,921 fish prey, Čech & Čech 2015), 18 species in Russia (8,556 fish prey, Kotyukov & Numerov 2004), 17 in Belgium (14,475 fish prey, Hallet 1977), 13 and 17 in Italy (1,834 fish prey, Isotti & Consiglio 2002, and 451 fish prey, Nessi et al. 2021, and 9 and 5 species in England (1,750 fish prey, Raven 1986, and 481 fish prey, Reynolds & Hinge 1996, respectively). ...
... These results contrast with those recorded in rivers in northern Italy, where Nessi et al. (2021) observed no difference in the length of fish caught between March and October. During the breeding season, the length of fish eaten by Kingfishers was 2-10 cm in 97% of cases (Čech & Čech 2017), although those of 4-8 cm were consumed the most often (Campos et al. 2000, Čech & Čech 2015, Vilches et al. 2019. In our study, the fish consumed from November to January were smaller in length and biomass than fish provided to nestlings in other areas. ...
Capsule
The winter diet of Common Kingfishers Alcedo atthis using two rivers in central Spain was 94.9% fish, all of which were non-native species.
Aims
To determine the composition Common Kingfisher diet in an area recently colonized by non-native fish species, and to compare estimated prey size during the winter to that of fish fed to nestlings during the breeding season.
Methods
The diet was studied by analysis of pellets collected from the River Duero (lentic, still water) and River Pisuerga (lotic, riverine) in central Spain. Fish size (total length and biomass) calculated from paired remains contained in each pellet.
Results
Prey items were almost exclusively fish (94.9% of all prey), with a small proportion of non-native Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii (4.9%) and aquatic insects (0.2%). The diet consisted of only five species of fish, all of which were non-native. The Common Bleak Alburnus alburnus and Eastern Mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki were the prey captured most often in the River Pisuerga and River Duero, respectively. Estimated length of fish prey ranged from 1.5 to 10.5 cm, but 53.6% of individuals were between 3 and 5 cm. Mean biomass of the fish consumed was also small (1.08 g per fish). Mean values of both fish total length and biomass were lower than the measurements reported elsewhere in Europe during the breeding season.
Conclusion
Native fish species have disappeared from the diet of Common Kingfishers in our study area, probably because the non-native species are more common.
... In Spain, eels prey on Procambarus clarkii, with this species reaching up to 67% of their stomach contents. Invasive crayfish are also an important part of the diets of at least six bird species, with the effect that the number of avian species increases due to the crayfish's appearance (Gherardi, 2007, Č ech andČ ech, 2015). Adult bullfrogs, by relying heavily on Procambarus clarkii as their main food source, potentially reduce their predatory impact on native frogs, which would otherwise represent their preferred prey in the absence of crayfish (Bisattini et al., 2021). ...
Invasive animal species pose a significant threat to native biocenoses. For the management of invasive species, it is important to know their distribution. We aimed to investigate the potential use of American mink (Neovison vison) scats as a bioindicator of the presence and density of invasive crayfish Faxonius (Orconectes) limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) in the watercourses. The structure and seasonal dynamics of the mink’s diet were studied in western Belarus. The dietary composition of the American mink showed great similarities across different types of watercourses (rivers and drainage channels). The basic diet consisted of rodents, amphibians, and fish. The crayfish’s presence in the samples during the warm season was negatively dependent on all the other main prey groups, but mostly on aquatic insects. During the cold season the relations were weaker, and crayfish was negatively associated mostly with birds in the samples. The percentage of crayfish in scats collected during the warm season was correlated with crayfish density, which indicated that with higher crayfish densities, the mink more often used this type of prey. However, the regression model was only a moderate fit. Droppings collected during both seasons can indicate the presence of crayfish in the environment. We conclude that the American mink’s diet can be a good indicator of invasive crayfish presence and their density in the environment. However, estimating crayfish density based on the mink’s diet may deviate from the trend during years of low water level, therefore, it is necessary to first assess precipitation during the season.
... For each sample, the minimum number of prey items was estimated by the number, dimension and position (left-right) of diagnostic remains. For cyprinids, pharyngeal bones have been widely used for both the species identification and estimation of the size of preyed specimens in the diet of predatory fish (Hansel et al. 1988;Radke and Eckmann 1996), mammals (Prenda and Granado-Lorencio 1992;Prigioni et al. 2003) and piscivorous birds (Adams and Mitchell 1995;Č ech et al. 2008, Č ech andČ ech 2015). The length (Fig. 2) of each pharyngeal bone found in the pellets was measured by vernier callipers accurate to 0.05 mm. ...
The diet of the kingfisher Alcedo atthis is usually studied by collecting pellet pools from the nest after breeding. This collecting method is very efficient but has some drawbacks which include invasiveness and restriction to the reproductive period. To overcome these limits, here we propose the collection of pellets under resting sites. Although requiring a large number of surveys to find suitable resting sites and obtain sufficient sample size, this method is minimally invasive and allows a precise estimate of the relative frequency of prey items per pellet and the assessment of kingfisher diet also outside the breeding period. The methodology was applied to an Italian kingfisher population (River Ticino, northern Italy) between March and October 2019. Resting sites were identified in 15 out of 54 sampling stations, from which 133 pellets were collected. By comparing diagnostic remains, 478 preyed individuals were identified including mainly fish (94.4%) ranging in total length between 21 and 105 mm. Fish availability of the River was assessed. The fish community included 49 species, of which 22 (45%) were non-native. Kingfishers preyed on the most widespread and abundant native species, while the contribution of exotic fish was lower than expected. However, the overall consistency of prey use and availability suggests that the analysis of kingfisher pellets represents an additional method for monitoring the composition of freshwater fish communities and man-induced changes across broad geographical scales.
... One of the freshwater birds regurgitating pellets is the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis, hereafter kingfisher). The species is distributed throughout most of Europe, Africa, and Asia and feeds on pelagic and benthic fish species and aquatic invertebrates (Čech and Čech 2015;Vilches et al. 2012). Their prey, mostly pelagic fish, is caught by a harpooning maneuvre of the kingfisher as he dives into the water, up to 25-cm deep (Fry et al. 2010). ...
Previous research has reported avian plastic ingestion in marine bird species. Yet, while research attention on plastic pollution is shifting from marine to freshwater ecosystems, very few information on plastic ingestion is available for freshwater birds. Here, we examined the presence of microplastic in regurgitated pellets of the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) collected along the Ticino River (North Italy). In total, 133 kingfisher’s pellets were examined between March and October 2019 from 54 transects along the river. Plastic elements were detected and identified by visual inspection followed by μ-FTIR and SEM-EDS. Overall, we found 12 (micro)plastics from at least three different polymers in 7.5% of the pellets. This study provides the first report of plastic uptake of this bird species. It highlights the importance of spectroscopic techniques in plastic monitoring studies in order to avoid misidentification of items found. Documenting the presence of plastic ingestion by top carnivores such as fish-eating birds is necessary to understand the pervasiveness and impact of (micro)plastic pollution in food webs of freshwater ecosystems.
... The Kingfishers diet has been analyzed in several studies (e.g., Iribarren & Nevado 1982, Reynolds & Hinge 1996, Campos et al. 2000, Isotti & Consiglio 2002, Èech & Èech Ornis Fennica 96: 3340. 20192015. Most of these cited studies have focused on prey-size selection, but much less attention has been paid to selection of fish-prey in relation to their caloric content. ...
... Pellets were taken from each nest with a 1 mlong, hand-made rake at the end of the breeding season, once the chicks had left the nest (i.e., from September to November). Pellets were dissected in the laboratory and the diagnostic bone pieces were extracted in order to identify the fish-prey and assess their length (Reynolds & Hinge 1996, Miranda & Escala 2002, Èech & Èech 2015. The proportion of each fish-prey in the nests was calculated (1) over the entire sample and (2) over those nests where that particular fish species was detected. ...
During the chick-rearing period, strategies of prey provisioning can have a decisive impact on several reproductive aspects.Adults can maximise their foraging effort by increasing the number of fish-prey brought to the nest per unit time and/or by catching more JMLC energetic prey, i.e. larger prey or prey with relatively higher caloric values. The Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is a fish-eating predator normally breeding in freshwater habi-tats. We collected data on fish-prey proportions found at nests (n=10) and determined the caloric content of such fish-prey (6 species overall) in rivers in northern Iberia. The pro-portion of each fish-prey species in the nest was not correlated with the proportion of lipids, proteins or carbohydrates, nor with its caloric content. Furthermore, the most energetic prey was not the most commonly consumed, illustrating the fact that the Common Kingfisher does not fish for the most energetic prey during the chick-rearing period.
... fish, amphibians, insects, reptiles, and even smaller birds and/or mammals (cf. Vilches, Miranda, and Arizaga 2012;Čech and Čech 2015) and employ several unique hunting techniques for catching it. Having spotted a fish in the river, for example, the bird can hover in flight watching it, before ultimately striking by performing a vertical dive. ...
This article takes a fresh look at human-kingfisher relations in Eastern Han-dynasty China (CE 25–220). It argues that the confined appearance of kingfisher figurines in graves excavated in the southwest of the modern-day People’s Republic of China reflects the structural differences in human-kingfisher interactions between the centre(s) of the Han empire and its peripheries. By re-visiting the archaeology of the figurines and placing them into the wider cultural and ecological context, it is shown that distinct sociocultural transformations such as urbanisation processes and infrastructural projects profoundly changed the exposure and interactional dynamics between humans and kingfishers in the northern parts of the realm. This situation contrasted sharply with human-kingfisher interfaces in the southwest, where relatively ‘untamed’ environments harbouring a great number and diversity of kingfishers provided more favourable conditions for encountering them. I propose that this framework, in turn, fostered conceptualizations of kingfishers in which the birds came to encapsulate an experience fundamentally opposed to the type of human preponderance showcased in the core areas. By discussing a set of local practices and beliefs that might have further promoted this view, I suggest that they served as catalysts for the emergence of the kingfisher figurines at a particular time in a specific place. In this wider context, the article finally considers whether the southward expansion of the Eastern Han, with which the appearance of the figurines coincides, contributed to a re-configuration of north–south dynamics, shaping the general logic of human-kingfisher relations at the time.
... The highest preference of length of provisioned food items by both species was shorter than 5 cm (CK: 87.5%; WK: 93%) while the breadth was shorter than 2 cm (CK: 82.5%; WK: 81%). Cech and Cech (2015), Hallet (1982), Reynolds and (1996) has shown that 97% of the diet of Kingfishers is composed of fish ranging in size from 2 to 10 cm. Swallowing of larger fish may be problematic, or even dangerous especially in cases of very young chicks and when prey have an atypical body shape (frog like head in bullhead, humped body in European perch), ctenoid scale (percidae), thorns on opercular bones (Bullhead, Percidae) or sharp hard rays in fins (Percidae) (Cech et al., 2008;2011). ...
A study was done on 'Provisioned food items to the nestlings of Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) and White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) by their parents' at Nikunja-1 and Madhabchala Union of Savar Upazilla in Dhaka District from September 2010 to September 2011 following focal animal sampling method with 5 minutes interval. During nesting period, the Common Kingfisher provisioned double (20.1 times/day/ nest or brood) than White-throated Kingfisher (10.7 times/ day/ nest or brood). A total of 8 species of foods (freshwater fishes only) were provisioned by the parents of Common Kingfisher while 9 species (4 species of arthropods, 3 freshwater fishes, one amphibian and one reptile) by White-throated Kingfisher. The Common Kingfisher highly preferred to provision the fry of Cichlid (49.8%, n= 80, numerical value) whereas the White-throated Kingfisher preferred fry of Rohu (40.4%, n= 80, numerical value) which were fresh water fishes and belonging to the Order Cypriniformes and Family Cyprinidae. The length and breadth of the food items of Common Kingfisher ranged from 2.3 to 6.2 cm (3.8 ± 0.8, n=80) and 0.7 to 2.9 cm (1.7 ± 0.4, n=80) respectively. This study was important to know the food items needed for the nestlings of Common and White-throated Kingfishers.
... Čech, vlastní pozorování). Naproti tomu v severozápadní a střední Evropě představují potoky a řeky klasickou a často výhradní potravní základnu pro místní ledňáčky (Hallet 1977, Raven 1986, Reynolds a Hinge 1996, Čech a Čech 2006, 2011, 2015. V klíčové kategorii publikací dohledatelných na WoS je jedinou studií, která zmiňuje vysoký podíl nerybí složky v potravě ledňáčka říčního, práce Helbiga Mezi analyzovanými fotografiemi z Google.com ...
... Hallet 1977, Zając a Dobrowolska 2007, Vilches a kol. 2012, Čech a Čech 2015. V antropogenně pozměněných ekosystémech s absencí přirozených mokřadů, tůní, slepých a mrtvých ramen řek, kde je navíc výskyt velkých larev vodního hmyzu, korýšů a obojživelníků silně potlačen rybami, tvoří právě ryby výhradní potravu ledňáčka říčního (Čech a Čech 2015(Čech a Čech , Hadravová 2016. ...
... 2012, Čech a Čech 2015. V antropogenně pozměněných ekosystémech s absencí přirozených mokřadů, tůní, slepých a mrtvých ramen řek, kde je navíc výskyt velkých larev vodního hmyzu, korýšů a obojživelníků silně potlačen rybami, tvoří právě ryby výhradní potravu ledňáčka říčního (Čech a Čech 2015(Čech a Čech , Hadravová 2016. ...
The diet of common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) was evaluated using the data from studies available on Web of Science TM Core Collection (WoS), from foreign studies out of WoS and via analysis of photographs available on Google.com. A special attention has been paid to a non-fish prey (occurrence and proportion in the diet, species spectrum, habitat of presence, size). Non-fish prey comprised 4.6% of the diet of kingfisher according to studies available on WoS, 13.6% according to foreign studies out of WoS and 11.6% according to photos on Google.com (gross average 9.9%; Fig. 1). Apart from fish, the prey was dominated by frogs (Anura; Fig. 2), newts (Triturus sp.), dragonfly larvae (Anisoptera), crayfishes (Astacidae) and tadpoles (Fig. 3, 4). According to Google.com photos, fish were mostly hunted by adult kingfishers (46.8% by male, 28.2% by female; Fig. 6) and sporadically by young bird (25.0%). In contrast, non-fish prey was mostly hunted by young kingfisher (51.1%; Fig. 4, 7), then by female (26.1%) and male (22.8%). In degraded ecosystems where marshes and oxbow lakes are absent and occurrence of aquatic insect, crayfishes, newts, frogs and tadpoles is heavily suppressed by abundant fish populations, fish represents the dominant or even exclusive diet of common kingfisher.
Assessment of occupancy status, as well as projection of suitable habitats and connectivity of wetland indicator species, and thereby identification of potential conservation umbrella and projection of conservation priority areas are often considered important for wetland conservation. Kingfishers are wetland indicators and suffer from habitat degradation due to world-wide destruction of wetlands. Therefore, they can be considered potential candidates for conservation intervention. The present knowledge about the spatial distribution of suitable areas and habitat connectivity of kingfishers at a landscape level is non-existent. We conducted extensive surveys and recorded four kingfisher species in East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW; Ramsar site No. 1208; ~125 km²). The occupancy estimates were highest for White-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis, WTK), followed by common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis, CK), stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis, SBK) and lowest for pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis, PK). WTK has the highest amount of suitable areas followed by CK, PK and SBK. The spatial overlap of suitable habitats showed that SBK is the potential umbrella species and therefore provides conservation benefits to other kingfisher species and eventually to the EKW. In addition to water areas, emergent vegetation, crop lands and tree cover are other important habitats for kingfishers. The connectivity analyses revealed that suitable habitats were disjunct and are under various anthropogenic threats. Therefore, we need to protect suitable habitats and connectivity between them. Finally, we identified conservation priority areas. Conservation intervention on these high priority zones will not only be beneficial for kingfishers, but also for other avifauna having similar resource requirements as well as the wetland parse.
