The Little King

So yesterday I gave a TED talk. But that isn’t what I’m talking about now. Wait till Sunday.

What I’m going to talk about now is something completely unrelated: kingfishers.

It’s probably pretty obvious by now I freaking love them. Big ones. Ones that don’t fit the standard definition (or color range). Heck, even watching them is enough for me.

So when a flash of blue appeared in front of us in an isolated islet in Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, I was… a little bit disbelieving. Especially considering the white-throated kingfisher that had just made an appearance literally fifteen meters away. This was… too good to be true.

But it was true. True enough that the lighting was so bad + my hands shaking so much from the excitement only one photograph actually turned out semidecent, with its head actually facing us. One word: gem. Seriously, is it even legal for birds to be that beautiful?

No. No is the answer. And considering how it manages to be so pretty while simultaneously being so awesome (fish. RIVERS. BEAKS.), I think it’s pretty deserving of the title ‘king’. (Though queen would have worked too. Ah well.)