HALCYON SANCTA

There's a couple of things about this pic that are interesting ( I think)
In a previous Kingfisher blip about a week or so ago - someone interestingly said they didnt like the tree the bird was perched on. I think it was someone outside NZ.
Its not actually a tree but a Seed-head branch from the native Flax Bush.
As kids we used to love these when they dried like this as we would chop them down and make various things from them - especially canoes. They float like a piece of Balsa wood. To a kiwi I think its fair to say they love these branches - someone else might like to comment.

The other thing is - if you look at this bird in large - there is a partial membrane over its eye. Birds have the ability to bring a membrane over the eye when feeding so they dont injure their eye. This one has a partial membrane as its just finished feeding and it hasnt completely retracted yet.
I didnt crop the pic today - its straight from the camera as I thought it might be nice for you to see what I see - without a crop.
rgds Pooba.