![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PIKI_composite_dive_wiki.jpg)
The pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis), native to Africa and Asia, is nearly as big as our belted kingfisher but he has a unique trait. He’s the largest bird able to hover in place without help from the wind.
The image above is a composite of three photos: a single pied kingfisher diving for the water. The video below (which is missing audio in the middle) shows a parent hovering and his daughter working on her dive.
When pied kingfishers aren’t hovering they hunt from a perch.
![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/PIKI_two_perched_wiki.jpg)
Sometimes the perch can swim.
![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/PIKI_on_hippo_wiki.jpg)
(photos from Wikimedia Commons; video from Love Nature on YouTube)