Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

Alcedo atthis is commonly known as Common Kingfisher. It belongs to family Alcedinidae. This species is the smallest of open country kingfishers that are familiar throughout Europe and Asia. It can be found in water’s edge in open-country swamps, old mining pools, aquaculture ponds, and mangroves.
As for this species, both male and female are almost identical except for an orange colouration with a black tip on the lower part of the female’s bill. The colour of their wings and upperparts is blue-green, while the rump and tail are bright blue. It also has bright orange underparts with a small, white bib underneath their bill, on the throats (Strange & Jeyarajasingam, 1993). The common kingfisher feeds mainly on fish and invertebrates and will fly rapidly, low over the water, and hunt for the fish from riverside perches, occasionally hovering above the water's surface.
​Today I had the opportunity to photograph the male Common kingfisher for the first time.  The bird was shot at 15-20 feet distance around 6:00pm in the evening.  Lighting was a little bit dimmed and I had to play around with the ISO, ranging from ISO 400 up to ISO 1600 to get a decent shot.  The kingfisher had perched at the same branch for almost 30 minutes with at least 5 times diving into the stream to catch its fish.

All the images were captured with my SONY a7RIV and the SEL200600G lens and SEL14TC teleconverter. I had to use the SONY VPR1 Remote Control with Multi-Terminal Cable to get nice sharp images without the camera shake.  ​Thanks for viewing!

Name: Common kingfisher (male)
Scientific: Alcedo atthis
Malay: Burung Raja Udang / Pekaka Cit-cit Kecil
Family: Alcedinidae
IUCN Red List (v3.1, 2016): Least concern
Gear: SONY a7RIV + SEL200600G + SEL14TC. 
Location: Hulu Kelang, Selangor.