Urban Kingfisher Spotted in Gurgaon City far away from any Wetland

Just yesterday when my brother excitedly pointed out to a White-Throated Kingfisher perched on the power lines in front of our house, it was a matter of great surprise. To spot a White-throated Kingfisher on New Railway Road of all things was indeed strange. We spotted the bird in the evening at 5:30 p.m. in the failing light.  I have heard a Kingfisher singing out while going for my morning jog through Sector 12 and have even spotted them on trees. One morning I even saw it diving into somebody's house in Mianwali Colony but then it was too dark to be very sure. I did carry a compact camera to snap one of them, but then the lighting was too bad.

What surprises me so much is spotting a Kingfisher right in the middle of the city, far away from the nearest wetland (The Basai Wetland is 5.8 Kilometers away). It looks like the Kingfishers have adapted to a life in the urban sprawl of the city, and they have adapted to a diet that is definitely not fish-based! Clearly, the Kingfishers in the Gurgaon district have come with some very clever tricks of adaptation.

Nature certainly has a way of adapting and by-passing obstacles and hurdles in its way, and the Kingfisher bird is certainly one example of this. So when we destroy the natural habitats of wildlife, the animals and birds come into towns and cities to feed. The presence of the Kingfisher in the middle of an urban city, that too far away from any wetland of reasonable size brings to the fore the phenomenon of the conflict between man and nature. The presence of the Kingfisher twenty or thirty years ago would have been acceptable because of the presence of numerous ponds in the city. However, seeing one in the middle of an urban jungle does force one to wonder what this bird might be doing so far away from its natural habitat of wetlands and rivers.

Many might argue that the Kingfisher might have flown in from the Basai Wetland, however, it simply does not make sense for a wetland-dependent bird species to retreat to the city far away from its natural habitat just to spend the night. Moreover, nesting birds that settle down in cities far away from their natural feeding grounds might find it difficult to feed their chicks. They would have to first hunt their prey and then fly all the way to their nest with food for their chicks.

Something has happened which is driving these birds into the cities like Gurgaon. Probably this is a phenomenon that exists in all those cities that have undergone a transformation in the form of development from semi-urban townships into a completely urbanised township. The rapid development of townships, cutting down of trees, draining of wetlands and the construction of buildings on farmlands have probably left the resident or native flora and fauna high and dry, not giving them a chance to migrate to other more suitable habitats.

One thing is definitely clear, White-Throated Kingfisher Birds have adapted to living in cities like Gurgaon and this has most probably necessitated a change in their diet, and besides their habits. The Kingfisher that I spotted on the New Railway Road was apparently hunting or searching for something. It would fly away only to come back to its perch on the electricity line. Perhaps it was on a hunt for food, though it was certainly not fish or other crustaceans that it was looking for.

Ideally, the Kingfisher is found in and around wetlands and water bodies, hunting for fish and other fresh-water crustaceans. One will have normally come across a White-Throated Kingfisher with a fish in its beak, perched on a branch or even flying around.

White-throated Kingfisher Birds are normally found perched on stems of plants resting between their hunt for fish. Of course, it would be greatly unusual for them to think of turning vegetarian or perhaps even vegan. 

Apparently, the White-throated Kingfisher Birds have changed their diet from that of fish to probably tiny rodents found in the cities. I wouldn't be surprised if tiny rats might not have become the Kingfisher's staple diet. The disappearance of wetlands and freshwater bodies has robbed the Kingfisher of its staple diet of fish and crustaceans, therefore it has been forced to shift to towns and cities that can provide it with a diet of small rodents and insects. This is, in any case, a major shift in terms of diet and environment for the bird. This in itself might explaind why large predators have started being seen close to towns and cities. The conflict between man and wildlife is become more and more evident, especially as wild animals and birds seem to be batlling it out rather desparately for their own survival!