Saw a lovely kingfisher today, first in quite a while. Not the larger ?pied? kingfisher, but the smaller one that is but a wee bit larger than a sparrow. It was in the old guys field just near the tofu stand on the way to power station beach. Quite a squawky little fellow, but he didn't stick around long.

On second thought I thnk the pied kingfisher is the black and white hovering one seen in India. I havn't got my 'Birds of India' book here though.

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beware of false prophets who speak the truth

Nice observation. I have seen these at Sok Kwu Wan near the little creek going into the main village, but not over this side. I assume this is the River Kingfish or Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) - the same one found next to European rivers.

<img src="http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/29/River-kingfisher-bb.jpg" border=1>

The kingfisher most commonly seen around Lamma is the white-breasted kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) - sometimes known as the white-throated or Smyrna kingfisher. As you rightly say, this is a much larger bird. They can often be seen around Pak Kok, and sometimes around the coast near Yung Shue Wan.

<img src="http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/29/Whitethroated_Kingfisher-bb.jpg" border=1>
<img src="http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/29/Whitebreasted-Kingfisher-bb.jpg" border=1>

The pied kingfisher has been recorded in Hong Kong, but only rarely up near Plover Cove in the northern New Territories. There is another species which has occasionally be sighted in Sok Kwu Wan - this is the black-capped kingfisher (Halcyon pileata)

<img src="http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/29/blackcappedking2-bb.jpg" border=1>
<img src="http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/29/blackcappedkingfisher-bb.jpg" border=1>
<img src="http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/29/blk_capped_kingfisher3-bb.jpg" border=1>