Crown fish dog
Crowned fish dog is a medium-sized bird, also known as spotted fishing lang, belongs to the kingfisher family of the great fish dog genus, is the largest kingfisher in China.
This fish dog has a distinctive crown on its head, black body feathers, many white ovals or other large spots of shape, and the middle of the crown is basically all white, with only a few white round spots. The difference between subspecies is mainly due to the fact that the nominated subspecies has a lighter upper body, a wider white spot, and more white spots in the flight feathers; the common subspecies has a darker upper body, a narrower white spot, and less white spots in the flying feathers. Crowned fish dog is 24-26 cm long, wingspan 45-47 cm, weight 70-95g, life span of 4 years.
The crowned fish dog inhabits streams, foothill plains, scrub or sparse forests, clear and gentle rivers, streams, lakes and irrigation canals. It often flies over rivers, streams, ponds and swamps to look down for food.
When flying, it is mostly along the middle of the stream, and once the food is found, it quickly dives, and the action is neat. Usually, he often lives alone on the top of branches, poles or rocks near the water's edge, waiting for opportunities to hunt. It puts the catch on the perch and constantly fiddles with it, even tossing the fish up in order to swallow the fish from scratch first. The diet is mainly small fish, which also eat crustaceans and a variety of aquatic insects and their larvae, as well as small frogs and a small number of aquatic plants. After the crowned fish dog plunges into the water, it can also maintain excellent vision, because after entering the water, its eyes can quickly adjust the contrast in the angle of view caused by the light in the water. So the fishing skills are very strong.
The breeding period of crowned fish dogs is from February to August, and most breed from May to June. They dig with their mouths and build their nests on embankments on steep banks, cliffs, ridges or fields and streams. The nest hole is round and small. These caves are generally uncovered. Eggs are laid directly on the nest floor. Each clutch lays 3-7 eggs, mostly 4-6. The incubation period is about 21 days, and the male and female incubate the eggs together, but only the female birds feed the chicks.
Ya'an Daily/North Latitude reporter Lu Nina