Crested Kingfisher Beats Fish on a Rock in Janjehli, Himachal Pradesh (Video)

On a boulder beside a fast mountain stream in the Janjehli valley, a Crested Kingfisher lands with a fish clamped in its bill. Instead of swallowing it straight away, the bird swings its head and beats the fish hard against the rock, again and again, before turning it round and gulping it down head-first.

Why does a kingfisher beat its catch?

Kingfishers catch their prey alive, and a struggling fish is hard to swallow. Beating it against a branch or rock does several jobs at once:

• Stuns or kills the fish, so it stops wriggling.
• Flattens the spines and fins, which could otherwise catch in the bird's throat.
• Softens the body, making a large fish easier to swallow whole.

Once the fish is still, the kingfisher turns it in its bill so it goes down head-first. That way the scales and fin rays lie flat instead of snagging. The bigger the fish, the longer the beating usually lasts, and the Crested Kingfisher takes larger fish than most of its relatives.

About the Crested Kingfisher

The Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris) is the largest kingfisher in India, about the size of a pigeon. Its black-and-white barred plumage and shaggy, spiky crest make it unmistakable. It lives along clear, fast-flowing rivers and streams in the Himalayas and the hills of Northeast India, and its range continues east into China, Southeast Asia and Japan.

It is usually seen alone or in pairs, perched on a rock or an overhanging branch, watching the water. It hunts by diving from that perch, and it often flies low and fast along the river when disturbed. It is shy and easily missed, so a close view of one feeding is a real treat.

This clip was filmed in 4K in Janjehli, in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, where cold streams run through forested valleys below the Shikari Devi range.

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