🦉 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
These incredibly beautiful birds arrive in mid-May, when there is no longer any snow, the weather is consistently warm, and fish are swimming in the thawed river.
In a ravine in the middle of the forest which is located right by the river, every year I see a pair of these birds, a male and a female. I can't say for sure if it's the same pair that nests every year, or their descendants, or just others.
Having descended into the ravine, you can see the mating games of these birds. The female sits somewhere on a branch in the bushes or thickets, and the male thereby catches fish in the river nearby. And as soon as he catches it, he carries it to the female, carefully turning the fish over with its head towards himself.
| Camera | Lens |
|---|---|
| Nikon D5200 | Tamron SP AF 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD |
