Blue-eared Kingfisher in Ipoh

I'm currently on vacation back to my hometown in Penang, Malaysia. I spent 6 days (14-19 Aug.) in Fraser's Hill and Ipoh, mainly for birding and food tasting. Bird watching in Fraser's Hill at this time was really quiet, not many active birds can be seen. Although without a lifer during this birding trip to Fraser's Hill, I still had some interesting birding experiences which I will update in my blog later.

In Ipoh, I saw a female Blue-eared Kingfisher (Alcedo meninting) hiding in the shed of a small tree on the bank of the pond at Kek Lok Toong region. The blue colour plumage of the Blue-eared Kingfisher is really attractive and magnificent.

Here is the digiscoped picture of the kingfisher, hope you also like it, especially the beauty of the blue plumage. (click on the picture for enlarged view):

A female Blue-eared Kingfisher 

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is the most common kingfisher in Asia and Europe, in fact, it is an uncommon migratory bird in Malaysia. As compared to the Blue-eared Kingfisher, the Common Kingfisher has darker plumage and light blue on the back, whereas the Blue-eared Kingfisher has brilliant bluish plumage on the crown and the wings, and stunning light blue on the back.

A male Common Kingfisher, which I digiscoped in Singapore Botanic Gardens in 2009.

Question: Do you know how to distinguish the male and female of these Alcedo kingfishers?
Answer:  You can actually find out the answer from these two pictures.