Predation of a western water shrew (sorex navigator) by a belted kingfisher (megaceryle alcyon)

Abstract

Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) are highly piscivorous and rarely take prey other than fish. here, I report an observation of a male Belted Kingfisher preying on a Western Water Shrew (Sorex navigator) in a small boreal stream in southwestern Yukon. This observation provides further evidence that Belted Kingfishers will occasionally prey on riparian small mammals when the opportunity arises and points to piscivorous birds as apparently novel predators of shrews.