Kingfishers don't always pull off crab claws & legs

[andrewcrossland]

For a life-time I've been seeing those little piles of bleached crab claws and legs around kingfisher perches to the extent that I believed all those environmental education teachers who said that kingfishers don't swallow crabs whole. Well, this one in Christchurch didn't read the memo....

Kingfisher 1.jpg (56.12 KiB) Viewed 708 times

Kingfisher 2.jpg (35.41 KiB) Viewed 708 times

Kingfisher 3.jpg (29.9 KiB) Viewed 705 times

[Jan]

i've always seen them whacking the crabs somewhere suitable and swallowing them whole. Never thought they picked anything off. Then they regurgitate bones [from fish and birds] and hard bits [from crabs etc] in those little piles. All kingfishers do that, who thought anything else? It's like Owls and Cormorants and the Queen Mother, only she she had to have a hospital visit for the fish bone.

[andrewcrossland]

indeed, indeed,
I've been reviewing too many educational aids lately and its just frizzled my brain.
There's so many old fishermen or wives tales eh?