🦉 The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
- Alcedo alcedinis, alcyon, or halcedo, halcedinis (lat.) kingfisher; word "hals" in ancient Greek language meant "sea", along with the word thalassa. According to ancient Greek mythology Alcyone (Alcyone), the daughter of the wind god Eol, was the wife of Keix, who drowned due to the wrath of the gods. Alcyone, out of grief, threw herself into the sea, and also died. The gods had mercy and turned the spouses into kingfishers. Looking for her husband, Alcyone calls all the time “Keix! Keix!" and dives, trying to find him in the sea. Alcyone days - two weeks of calm weather around the day winter solstice. During these days, Eol pacified the winds so that Alcyone, in the form of a kingfisher, could hatch chicks in her nest floating on the waves.
- atthis (ancient Greek mythology) Attis, a divine youth of extraordinary beauty
Every year on the 10th of May I always go to the forest which is located on the bank of a large river flowing along the city. There in the forest there is a ravine in which a spring flows. And every year these birds of incredible beauty nest in this place. In some old books from the 50s I found that these birds were called "Siberian parrots" in the old days. Indeed, the bird has bright, iridescent plumage that is unusual for these region.
It’s funny that athletes are running, riding bicycles, and just walking next to this ravine, and they don’t see these birds at all, which are literally a couple of dozen meters away from them.
And in order to take photos of these guys every year, I have to go down into the ravine and carefully make my way deeper through the thickets.
| Camera | Lens |
|---|---|
| Nikon D5200 | Tamron SP AF 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD |
