Sacred Kingfisher

Description:

Sitting high up on a dead tree branch was a delightful kingfisher with a turquoise back, rump and tail. Throat was a gleaming white and belly a creamy colour. The back of the neck had a white collar. Pic3 shows it's partner which joined it a little later.

Habitat:

Spotted on a casuarina tree on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River on an extremely hot day at Gundagai

Notes:

This spotting is for documentation of species, location and time only. The birds were so far away that clearer shots were not possible with my simple camera.
These birds, although called kingfishers, forage mostly on land feeding on small lizards, insects and crustaceans. They are found all along the coast of mainland Australia in woodland, among mangrove and paperbark trees. They fly north for winter and come down South to breed.
Order: Coraciformes
Family: Alcedinidae