Breeding Biology of the Pied Kingfisher Ceryle Rudis on Lake Victoria

Abstract

Pied Kingfisher colonies on the northern shore of Lake Victoria are mainly in borrow pits and ditches within i km of the lake. Two colonies were studied in detail from October 1967 to November 1969. Eggs were laid in every month of the year but most breeding activity occurred between April and October. Groups of birds displayed in the air and then on the ground before burrowing began. One in five burrows was completed taking on average 26 days to excavate. The final lengths of nesting burrows ranged from 80-250 cm and was inversely related to the hardness of the groimd. Eggs were laid on consecutive days ; the most frequent clutch size was five. Incubation, mainly by the female, began before the clutch was complete and took 18 days. ‘Courtship’ feeding began during excavation of the burrow and ended during incubation. Additional males sometimes fed the mated male during incubation. Both sexes fed the young but most feeding visits were by males; several males fed the chicks at some burrows. Most chicks fledged 24 or 25 days after hatching. Colonies on the Entebbe peninsula have increased in size this century, and now include some of the largest recorded, but few young were reared during this study suggesting they are maintained by immigration.