Watching wildlife near water can be incredibly rewarding. As this video shows, you never know when something surprising will happen.
Regular contributor Jaun Slabert sent this footage to Latest Sighthings. He shot this video along one of the rivers in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
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Riverside birdwatching
As Jaun’s video begins, he and his clients are watching birds while on their game drive. In frame, we see a beautiful giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima).
In its beak, the bird holds a fish nearly as large as itself. Besides fish, the kingfisher feeds on crabs, frogs, and other small creatures.
Tenderising
As we watch, the kingfisher lifts its head, manoeuvring its prey in its beak as it does. It then goes to work preparing its meal for consumption.
Subsequently, it whips the fish downwards, bashing it against the stump on which it is perched. Kingfishers do this for two reasons.
Firstly, the repeated bashing breaks any external spikes that could damage the bird’s intestinal tract. Secondly, it breaks bones and softens tissue, making the meal easier to digest. The bird swallows it whole and headfirst once it has sufficiently tenderised it.
Alert for danger
As the bird continues preparing its meal, it turns from time to time, possibly to keep a lookout for any danger. Little does it realise that it is looking in the wrong direction.
Kingfishers might fall victim to a variety of predators, including snakes, cats, raptors, and even fish. As such, just as they are constantly on the lookout for prey, they must take care they don’t end up being the prey themselves.
Lookout below!
Just as the bird seems to be ready to swallow its meal, it nearly becomes a meal itself. Suddenly, there is a blur of movement from below and behind the bird.
A small crocodile has lunged upwards and snaps its jaws closed over the kingfisher’s rump. Miraculously, the bird sees it in the nick of time and moves forward.
Amazingly, it takes off just as the croc’s jaws snap shut. As it flies off, we see that many of its tail feathers are missing. The bird then disappears from view, having only very narrowly escaped certain death.
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Lucky vs unlucky
Subsequently, the camera settles on the crocodile. Plainly visible in its mouth, we see the world’s luckiest kingfisher’s feathers protruding from it jaws.
The crocodiles snaps its jaws, only to find that there is nothing to swallow but feathers.
As the video ends, we imagine both the kingfisher and the croc wonder what could have been.
More about kingfishers and crocs
Giant kingfishers are easily recognised by their large size, white-speckled plumage, and russet chest feathers. When hunting, they perch above water before diving onto unsuspecting prey in the water below.
The range of the Nile crocodile roughly overlaps that of the giant kingfisher. They are the world’s second-largest crocodile, feeding on everything from fish to large mammals.