Tyrone Diesca sent me some photos of a Common
Kingfisher he saw with his birding friend Sisar Solesta and has given me
permission to use them on my website. The photos were taken on the morning of 7
November 2014 at south corniche lagoon, Al Khobar with a 200mm lens. The Common
Kingfisher is a common winter visitor to Saudi Arabia where it is always seen
near water and mostly near to the coast. Interestingly most birds seen are
females and at Sabkhat Al Fasl, Jubail, Eastern Province we catch and ring
quite a few birds with almost all being females. The photo that Tyrone has sent
shows a male as it has a completely black bill and these are seen much less
frequently than females although they are also regular.