The color ball shot along the watercourse, disappearing in the reeds. It was small, maybe baseball-sized. Our boatman slowed the wooden canoe to a crawl, and we drifted along the ten-foot-high papyrus reeds. The narrow channel was our avenue into the interior of Mabamba Swamp, a spectacular wetland along the edge of Lake Victoria. We’d come to search for birds.

There, sitting on a diagonal stem, was our quarry. Bright red bill, blue cap, cinnamon-red chest, and bright red feet all glowed in the subdued light of the swamp. A Malachite Kingfisher glared down into the water, its eyes concentrating on the surface and never acknowledging our presence. They can dive for a fish in a lightning flash, catching it in that red-pointed bill. This guy was about half the size of our Belted Kingfisher.

Kingfishers nest in holes that they build. This species tunnels into banks along water bodies. Both members of the pair help, and the tunnel may vary from 10 inches to more than three feet. Both help raise the young.

Africa has many species of kingfishers. Some feed on fish like our Belted Kingfishers do, but others are terrestrial, feeding more on insects, lizards, and invertebrates. Our little guy took a plunge but didn’t appear to catch anything and disappeared around the next clump.