Javaliest

Javaliest

We are delighted that Dagmar Thewes has become the godmother of the Javaliest.

The Javan kingfisher(Halcyon cyanoventris) belongs to the family of kingfishers and the subfamily of kingfishers or tree kingfishers. As its German name suggests, the Javaliest is found on the Indonesian island of Java, but also on the neighbouring island of Bali.
The strikingly colourful bird, which is about 27 cm tall and very dark for its family, feeds mainly on insects that it catches on the ground. However, aquatic animals such as fish, frogs and crabs are also part of its diet. When hunting, the java kingfisher looks out for suitable prey from a higher perch, which it then catches in a dive.
The java kingfisher breeds between February and September and lays three to five eggs. It uses a cave dug by both parents on river banks or embankments as a nest. The tunnel can be up to one metre long and is usually located in a sunny spot.
Like most kingfisher species, the java kingfisher uses a wide variety of habitats such as coasts, mangroves, lakes and fields. It only avoids dense rainforest. This is also one of the reasons why the java kingfisher is not yet acutely endangered, although its range is becoming increasingly smaller.