The crested fish dog belongs to the genus of the kingfisher family of the Buddhist monk (climbing birds), and it is not difficult to see from the name that the members of the genus are all large kingfishers.
Figure 1: Image source: ebird
In addition to their large size, members of the genus have crests of feathered heads, with the most "flamboyant" of the crested fish, which is raised high and black and white in color, and looks very similar to the moxican head of the native North Americans.
Figure 2 hairstyle is very explosive Source: unclefai
In China, the crowned fish dog is the most common fish dog, and it is also the largest kingfisher in China and even Asia, with a length of more than 40cm. The crown fish dog is mainly distributed in the southeast region in China, north to Beijing, southern Liaoning, and south to Hainan Island, and the crown fish dog can be seen.
It's not a fish, it's not a dog, it's a bird.
When many people hear the name Crowned Fish Dog for the first time, they don't think it's a kingfisher, and it's even difficult to associate it with birds, just another name for a certain fish or dog.
In fact, the name fish dog is unique to China and has been around for a long time. In the Ming Dynasty medical scientist Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" - the forty-seventh volume of the poultry department (one of the birds, fish and dogs) is recorded: "Dogs, tigers, and teachers are all devourers of beasts." This bird harms fish. Hence the name. ”
In other words, people at that time named this kind of fishing bird fish dog.
Figure 3: Crowned pike in flight, with the crest retracted Photo source: rajdeepmitra
In addition, Li Shizhen also introduced: "Fish and dogs are everywhere. As big as a swallow, the beak is pointed and long, the back hair is green with blue, the wing feathers are black and green, and it can be decorated with a woman's head, and it is also jadeite. ”
From the current point of view, although this text is only a few sentences, it basically explains the habitat and physical characteristics of the crested fish dog.
Therefore, in Chinese history, the image of the fish dog has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and its name has also been recognized by the academic community.
Internationally, the crested fish dog is known as the Crestedkingfisher or Himalayanpied Kingfisher, which can be understood as a kingfisher with crested fur.
Figure 4: Source: junglesafari
It is worth noting that there is another species of spotted fish dog (Spotted Kingfisher) that looks very similar to the crown fish, and there is also overlap in distribution, except that the crown of the crowned fish is more prominent, and in the Himalayas, the crowned fish dog lives at higher altitudes.
The head of the five-spotted fish dog is flatter, and the feather crown is not protruding Photo source ebird
The formal description of the crested fish dog was first proposed in 1834 by the Dutch zoologist Temminck, and the genus Megaceryle was established in 1848 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. Megaceryle is derived from the Greek word megas, meaning "great", perhaps inspired by their size.
Spotted Angler.
The birds of the genus Bigfish mainly feed on fish, and the crowned fish dog is no exception. For fishing, their habitat is often found in mountains, rivers, valleys, wetlands, reservoirs and other areas, and as long as they find a crevice in the rock wall or a cave in the earth wall to build a nest nearby, the problem of food and shelter can be solved together.
Not only are they very planned in their lives, but they are also very principled when it comes to mates, and most kingfishers are monogamous and can maintain long-term mating relationships. As a bird, the male of the crested fish dog also follows the rule that the male is more "showy", compared to the female who is only black and white with spots, the male will have bright red feather decoration on the chest, which looks more eye-catching.
Figure 6 male crested fish dog, the "red scarf" on the chest is very conspicuous Photo source tokumi
When the breeding season comes, the female will lay eggs in the nest, up to five eggs per nest at a time, during the incubation period, both parents take turns to hatch, after about three weeks, the chicks will break out of the shell, and then only after another one to two weeks, they can learn the predation skills with their parents, and when the chicks have mastered how to fish, it is time to leave the nest and live alone.
Most of the time, the crested fish dog is alone, and occasionally accompanied by "double birds", but it is not seen in groups, because they are very territorial and will communicate with other individuals in their own kind through loud "gaga" sounds, and mark their territory.
Figure 7 Image source ayuwatjearwattanakanok
And from the point of view of predation, this may be to avoid competition between peers for food, because the crown fish dog eats fish a bit like an acrobatic show.
Crested fish dogs are very patient when hunting, they will look for a prominent spot near a body of water, such as a branch or the tip of a rock, and then stare at the surface of the water, quietly waiting for an opportunity. When it sees fish or other prey, such as frogs, it dives into the water with great speed and precise angles, capturing the prey with its powerful beak and bringing it back above the surface.
Picture: Eight crowned fish, dog fishing, photo source: josepdel hoyo
After catching a fish, the crested fish dog will quickly swing its head to stun the prey against the slab so that it can adjust the position of the prey and start swallowing from the prey's head.
Picture: Nine-crowned fish dog swings its head and hits its prey Photo source: titashchakrabarti
However, this kind of head swing will affect the eyes of the crown fish dog, especially when the fish body is relatively long, it is easy to throw it on the eyes, so when the head is swinging, the crown fish dog will close the instantaneous membrane to protect the eyes.
In addition, the crown fish dog will sometimes throw the fish into the air and change the angle when catching, so as to better eat the prey, but this method is to be careful that the prey is not caught, and the other is that it may be snatched away by peers, so the crown fish dog is usually alone when it is active.
Guanyu Dog's inner OS: We are full of food, and the whole family is not hungry!
Author: Yu Yu.
Winner of the Silver Award for Outstanding Popular Science Works of the China Science Writers Association.
Lovers of steamed fish heads, spicy fish heads, and other fish heads.
Editor-in-charge: Dong Xiaoxian.