Kingfisher fun facts

Kingfishers that laugh

The aptly named laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) may be the most well known of the kingfishers, although many people may recognize it more by sound than by sight. This kingfisher's call was used in old movies over jungle scenes. This bird lives only in Australia, but its call is used in movies set all over the world. Examples of movies that use the laughing kookaburra call include some of the early Tarzan films, The Wizard of Oz, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The laughing kookaburra is also a character in the famous Australian children's song "Kookaburra," written by Marion Sinclair.

Kingfishers that hover

The pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) from Africa and Asia is the world's largest hovering bird. This kingfisher uses hovering to help it spot fish in the water.

Kingfishers that inspire engineers

The head of the kingfisher inspired the redesign of the Japanese bullet train to make it more aerodynamic. In the past, the train would make a sonic boom when it emerged from tunnels because the front of the train was not aerodynamic enough. An engineer was inspired by the kingfisher, which as an aerodynamic break that allows it to go from air to water seamlessly as it dives. When engineers tested a kingfisher beak-like design for the bullet train, they found that not only did it solve the problem of the sonic booms, it also allowed the train to operate more efficiently overall. 

Kingfishers as fashion

For centuries, the striking blue feathers of kingfishers found in Asia were prized for making headdresses and jewelry in China. The art of making these items was known as dian-cui (also written tian-tsui). Kingfisher feather headdresses and other accessories were worn by empresses, consorts of the emperor, and other high-status women. Kingfisher feathers were also used in decorative objects. For elaborate pieces, the feathers of many birds were probably used. The last workshop to specialize in these ornate kingfisher feather products closed in the 1930s.

Due to their delicate nature, relatively few of the kingfisher headdresses and other items survive to this day. The style of these items, which used inlayed metal filagree, can be imitated using a variety of other materials, like ribbon, dyed goose feathers, peacock feathers, or cloisonné (colored glass enameling).

Kingfisher feathers were also used in European and American fashion, most notably during the Victorian- and Edwardian-era (1830s to 1914) trend for large, fashionable hats adorned with bird feathers. During these eras, many species of native and exotic birds were nearly killed off in pursuit of their feathers and skins, which were used solely for ornamentation. Some hats were even decorated with entire stuffed birds!

Kingfishers in myth

In ancient Greek myth, the beautiful woman Alcyone was turned into a halcyon bird (a mythical bird usually associated with the common kingfisher) by the gods. The halcyon bird of myth was said to nest during a period of good weather around the winter solstice. This period was the halcyon days.

There are a few versions of the story of why Alcyone was turned into a halcyon. One version of the story is that Alcyone and her husband Ceyx thought of themselves as gods and began calling each other by the gods' names. Their behavior angered the god Zeus, who killed Ceyx by hitting his ship with a lightening bolt. Alcyone, grief-stricken, drowned herself in the sea. Zeus felt sorry for Alcyone and Ceyx and transformed them into birds.

Today, Halcyon and Ceyx are genus names for kingfishers. Halcyon is widely distributed in Africa and Asia, whereas Ceyx is found in India, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Australasia. The "halcyon days" refer to a time of calm weather, peacefulness, or happiness.

Kingfishers in art

Kingfishers are frequent subjects in art. Even Vincent van Gogh painted a kingfisher. His painting Kingfisher by the Waterside is held by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.