Common Kingfisher
Alcedo atthis
Despite its brilliant colours, this “flying jewel” is surprisingly easy to overlook: usually its sharp, high-pitched whistle gives it away before it shoots low over the water like a blue flash. A pair usually raises two, sometimes three broods a year – the female often starts incubating again while the male is still feeding the previous young.
- Group
- Waders & Waterbirds
- Photos
- 2
- Taken
- 2020–2024
Profile: Common Kingfisher
- Family
- Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)
- Size
- approx. 16–18 cm
- Wingspan
- approx. 25 cm
- Weight
- approx. 35–40 g
- Habitat
- Clear streams, rivers and still waters rich in fish, with perches above the water and steep banks in which it digs its nesting burrow.
- Diet
- Mainly small fish up to about 9 cm, plus aquatic insects and tadpoles – caught by plunge-diving from a perch.
- When to see
- Mostly resident. In harsh winters it moves to ice-free waters; long cold spells kill many birds.
Learn more: Wikipedia · NABU (German)