Kingfishers | Alcedinidae

IJsvogels | Martines pescadores

Most species of this family do not fish in this region. They sit on a lookout above open ground and drop onto lizards, insects and nestling birds; the kookaburra kills snakes by beating them repeatedly against a branch. Kookaburras live in groups of a breeding pair with young from earlier years, which help to feed and guard, and at first light and at dusk strike up a joint laughing chorus that marks out the boundaries of the territory. Several species hack their nest chamber into an arboreal termite nest: the termites seal the wall around it, so the chamber stays dry and warm. No nest material is brought in. The young grow up in a dark, heavily fouled cavity and carry a hook on the bill tip for the first weeks, with which the eldest can injure the younger ones.