Migratory kingfisher clashes with local species at West Coast Park, knocks opponent off railing

Local kingfisher chased off by aggressive migratory visitor at West Coast Park in ‘very lucky’ sighting

A migratory kingfisher ended up in a rare battle with a local kingfisher at West Coast Park, resulting in a high-speed aerial chase.

The lucky photographer who captured the feathery fight even claimed the clash had never been photographed in Singapore before.

Aggressive migratory kingfisher chases local rival off at West Coast Park

Mr Gordon Koh, a Regional Director in a multinational corporation (MNC), told MS News that he encountered the birds at around 8.30am on 22 Nov.

It occurred at a canal in West Coast Park, next to Pandan Crescent Road.

Observing from a distance, Mr Koh saw a local white-throated kingfisher land on a railing with what appeared to be a worm in its beak.

It began to eat its caught prey, only for a rare migratory black-capped kingfisher to unexpectedly swoop down at it.

Mr Koh described the black-capped kingfisher as “very aggressive”. It went beak-first at the other bird, which fell from the railing and flew off immediately.

“This kind of attack [has] never [been] seen or photographed before in Singapore as far as I know,” he claimed, calling it extremely rare.

Kingfishers engage in aerial chase after one returns to railing

After the clash, the white-throated kingfisher flew back to the railing. It was on high alert, keeping an eye out for its attacker.

The black-capped kingfisher appeared shortly after and charged, with the local kingfisher taking off before the other bird could get close.

“Then a chase ensued, and both kingfishers were seen flying away across the canal,” Mr Koh said.

He lost track of them during the pursuit and didn’t manage to snap a photo of their second encounter.

‘Very lucky day’ to witness rare fight with infrequent visitor

“It was a very lucky day for me to witness such a rare bird, let alone a fight with the white-throated kingfisher.”

Mr Koh explained that black-capped kingfishers are typically skittish, making them a very infrequent sight.

According to the Bird Society of Singapore, the species is a “scarce winter visitor” mostly found in China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula.

In his Facebook post, Mr Koh suggested that the fight was a territorial dispute.

He further theorised that the black-capped kingfisher was acting very aggressively as it was a “visitor” in the ecosystem.

Also read: ‘Battle of the Raptors’: Brahminy kite swoops down & fights peregrine falcon for prey in Havelock

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Featured image adapted from Gordon Koh on Facebook.