Feeding Behavior

Forages by plunging headfirst into water, capturing fish near surface with bill. Watches for fish from branch, wire, rock, or other perch above water, or may hover above water before diving. Bones, scales, and other indigestible parts of prey are coughed up later as pellets.

Eggs

6-7, sometimes 5-8. White. Incubation is by both sexes, 22-24 days. Female incubates at night, with male taking over early in morning; male may or may not do less of incubation than female. Young: Both parents feed young, at first giving them partially digested fish, later whole fish. Male may make more feeding visits than female. Young depart from nest 27-29 days after hatching, are fed by parents for about another 3 weeks. 1 brood per year, perhaps sometimes 2 in south.

Young

Both parents feed young, at first giving them partially digested fish, later whole fish. Male may make more feeding visits than female. Young depart from nest 27-29 days after hatching, are fed by parents for about another 3 weeks. 1 brood per year, perhaps sometimes 2 in south.

Diet

Mostly small fish. Typically feeds on small fish, usually those less than 4-5" long. Also eats crayfish, frogs, tadpoles, aquatic insects. Occasionally takes prey away from water, including small mammals, young birds, lizards. Reported to eat berries at times.

Nesting

In courtship display, male brings fish, feeds it to female. Nest site is in steep or vertical dirt bank, usually with higher content of sand than clay. Both sexes take part in digging a long horizontal tunnel with nest chamber at end. Tunnel is generally 3-6' long and usually slopes upward from entrance. Rarely nests in tree cavity. Usually no lining added to nest chamber, but debris and undigested fish bones and scales may accumulate.