Common Kingfisher (1 Viewer)

Hi,

I have photographed a lot of common kingfishers in different areas of Pakistan. Normally they are blue in colour. However, this bird that I shot at Haleji Lake is green. Can anyone help me with the possible reason so that I have a better understanding of this bird?

WaqarM said:

Hi,

I have photographed a lot of common kingfishers in different areas of Pakistan. Normally they are blue in colour. However, this bird that I shot at Haleji Lake is green. Can anyone help me with the possible reason so that I have a better understanding of this bird?

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There are variations in the structural colours of the feathers' barbs, and this can have changing influence depending upon feather age, growth and moult. The species has no blue pigment in its feathers, the effects being selective absorbance and reflection of the spectrum that usually results in blue light emission. this 2011 paper may help:

Doekele G. Stavenga, Jan Tinbergen, Hein L. Leertouwer, Bodo D. Wilts
Journal of Experimental Biology 2011 214: 3960-3967; doi: 10.1242/jeb.062620

See:
https://jeb.biologists.org/content/214/23/3960

MJB

Thank you for the information

It may also be relevant that young Common kingfishers are typically greener than adults, so maybe this is a young bird that has retained juvenile plumage.