oversize head bobbing. It opens its long bill wide, like it’s gagging. It ruffl es the feathers on its chubby body. T e bird looks odd. In fact, its proportions look all wrong, as if it could topple over at any time. Yet all it takes is a couple of seconds for this ungainly bird to show that it’s perfectly adapted to its environment. T is happens when the bird sees a fish in the
A
river below. In a fl ash, it dives from its perch. Its blue and orange feathers sparkle in the sunlight. With wings tucked tightly by its sides, the bird dives toward the water below. It moves so fast that it looks like a blue streak. T en the bird splashes into the river. T e kingfi sher’s bill slices through the water.
T e rest of its body quickly follows, bubbles swirling around it. T e bird grabs the fi sh with its bill, turns, and shoots upward out of the river. As it fl aps its powerful wings, water rolls off its body and fl ows downward. T e kingfi sher fl ies back to its branch, prey in
its bill. T e fi sh struggles but it can’t escape. T e bird smacks it senseless against the branch, then swallows its dazed prey whole. T e whole hunt took just two seconds.
Adapted to Hunt T is kingfi sher looks like an unlikely predator. Aſt er all, it’s no bigger than a grownup’s fi st. And from beak to feet, each of its body parts looks almost comical. Yet combined, they make this bird the king of fi shers. Each day, it can dive into the water again and again, catching and eating close to its own weight in prey. All of this bird’s adaptations, or unique body
parts and behaviors, help it to survive in its river environment. In fact, its adaptations make this bird one the most successful species of kingfi shers in the world. As many as 600,000 common kingfi shers live
and fi sh along rivers and streams in Europe and Asia. T eir adaptations help them live successfully along these waterways.
common kingfisher sits on a branch, its
Looking into its Eyes A kingfi sher’s eyesight has adapted to river life. Its eyes are beady, black, and small. Yet it can see a fi sh the size of a paper clip from as far as 90 meters away. And that’s not its most amazing adaptation. You see, river water can act like a mirror. It
refl ects sunlight, which glistens as water moves downstream. T e shimmering water causes glare that makes it hard to see. To make it even harder, water also bends light. You can see how by sticking a pencil into a glass of water. It looks like the pencil is bent. T e kingfi sher’s eyes are adapted to correct these eff ects. First, a kingfi sher has a red pigment in cells
in its eyes. T is pigment blocks bright light and reduces glare, just like sunglasses. Second, the bird has two ways to look for prey. As it dives, it uses one part of its eyes. T en it uses a diff erent part when it’s underwater. T is lets the bird see prey perfectly. Extra, transparent eyelids are another
adaptation. T ey act like swim goggles that protect the bird’s eyes while letting it see underwater.
The kingfi sher’s eyes are adapted to fi nding and catching fi sh.
4 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER
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