Common Kingfisher
Alcedo atthis
Least ConcernFast Facts
About
The common kingfisher is a jewel of Europe's waterways, its electric-blue back and burnt-orange underparts flashing as it darts low over the water. Despite its brilliance, it is easily overlooked until it streaks past like a living sapphire.
It depends on clean, slow-moving rivers and still ponds well stocked with small fish, making it a valuable indicator of healthy freshwater habitats.
Behaviour
The kingfisher hunts from a favoured perch overhanging the water, plunging headfirst to seize fish in its dagger-like bill before returning to beat the catch senseless against the branch.
Pairs excavate nest tunnels into vertical riverbanks, where they raise their young in a chamber at the end.
Did you know?
- A kingfisher's brilliant blue is created by light refraction, not pigment, so it shimmers as it moves
- It must eat around its own body weight in fish every day
- Kingfishers turn fish to swallow them head-first so the fins fold back smoothly
- A nest tunnel in a riverbank can be up to a metre long
Distribution
Europe, Asia and North Africa along slow-flowing fresh waters
