Hi Tweets,

Christy Anderson writes:

>This person had observed that kingfishers vocalize while they're flying
>over the water, presumably hunting. They were wondering if their chattering
>call had some effect on the fish, perhaps making them easier to catch.
>Getting their attention? Causing them to come closer to the surface, or ???

I don't think it's a fish-mimicry thing, or something along the line of the
sound waves of the call hitting the water and making the fish think there's
some kind of fly-hatch going on, the way a plover or thrush will 'drum' on
earth or mud/sand to make invertebrates think it's raining, though come to
think of it, that may not be *entirely* impossible. With electronics, that
might not be too hard to prove one way or t'other.

It's likely a territorial challenge, I think, as in 'Just because I'm busy
fishing right now down this stretch of river doesn't mean you can steal fish
from the section I just left!' Hm, that's interesting, because of topology,
a kingfisher by definition usually defends both sides of a ribbon-territory
if along river-bank or one side if shoreline, so for a kingfisher, any
territorial proclamation is going to be a linear business rather than a
circuit of song-perches enclosing a territory within (as American Robin
Turdus migratorius and just about any other songbird). That may be why it's
so vociferous and loud, not only to let the next bird ahead know it's
approaching, but to warn off any interlopers rushing in to fill any
power-vacuum behind, since it has to defend territory in two directions
simultaneously.

Interesting question!

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)