The kingfisher one of the brightest coloured birds and it’s preferred habitat is slow-moving river banks or by the side of lakes.
These distinctive orange and blue birds live near slow-moving or still water such as marshes, canals or rivers. Kingfishers can be difficult to spot, flying quickly and low across the surface of the water, hunting freshwater fish and the occasional aquatic invertebrate from riverside perches. Sometimes all that can be seen is a flash across the water before they disappear.

The common kingfisher is a solitary creature for most of the year. Both males and females are highly territorial and will defend their home range vigorously. But pairs form in the autumn and share a territory whilst raising their offspring. Both parents are kept on the go as chicks can demand up to a hundred fish a day.


The males start to woo their females in February and you may be able to see the ‘fish passes’. This is where the male will try to feed the female by offering her a fish, head first. This courtship ritual can take place over a few weeks before the female actually accepts the tasty titbit and lets the male mate with her.

There are between four to six thousand pairs of kingfisher which can be found throughout most of the UK. They are vulnerable to harsh winters and polluted waterways but adults can raise three families a year which helps numbers jump up quickly.
Ecosystem and habitat
The common kingfisher species have very low forest dependency. They inhabit various ecosystems having open stagnant or slow flowing water sources with overhanging trees. They inhabit water canals, drainage canals, ditches, open aquatic excavations, aquatic ponds, aquaculture ponds, water storage lakes and ponds, urban parks with water sources and rural gardens.

The common kingfisher species also inhabit near natural water sources like rocky shoreline with perches, tide pools, estuaries, tropical and subtropical wetlands, swamps, peatlands, mangroves, flooded grasslands, freshwater lakes, rivers, waterfalls, streams and creeks.

Diet and feeding habits
The diet of these kingfisher species is mostly fish. It also feeds on aquatic insects, flies, dragonfly nymphs, mayfly nymphs, butterflies, moths, frogs, tadpoles, crayfish, water beetles, prawns and shrimps. It has been observed to feed occasionally on berries and stems of reeds. It eats nearly 60% of its body weight daily.

The common kingfisher hunts from a perch, one to three meters above water. On locating the prey, it plunges steeply down and seizes the prey with its beak. Then it emerges from the water with the prey and flies to the perch. By changing position of the prey in the beak, the kingfisher holds the prey by the tail and beats it several times against the perch before swallowing it head-first.

Reproduction and breeding habits
The breeding season of these kingfisher species varies greatly considering the extremely large range. The breeding season of these species is mainly from, March to June in northern and central India, February to September in southern India, January to February in Malaysia, March to July in Britain and March to August in Japan.

The male kingfisher establishes territory with display from perches and chases away competitors. Pairing forms in autumn and in spring courtship is initiated by the male by chasing and ritual feeding of the female which culminates in mating. These kingfisher species are monogamous.

The kingfisher nest is a slightly inclining burrow excavated by the pair. Two to ten glossy white eggs are laid. Both the parents take turn to incubate in the day and the female incubates in the night. The eggs hatch in 20 days and the nestlings are fed by both the parents. Two to three broods may be raised in a season.

Migration and movement patterns
These common kingfisher species are mostly migratory birds. The southern populations are resident.


The northern breeding populations in Europe, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, North Korea, South Korea and Mongolia move southwards for wintering. Post breeding dispersal of juveniles takes place. The common kingfisher may make local movements for feeding and breeding.

Conservation status and concerns
The global population size of the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is estimated to be around 780,000 to 1,340,000 individual birds. The overall population size is not known and in Europe it is considered to be slowly decreasing. In most of its ranges this kingfisher species is reported to be common and abundant. Their generation length is 4.4 years.

The common kingfisher does not approach the thresholds for being Vulnerable either under the range size criterion or under the population trend criterion or under the population size criterion. The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has categorized and evaluated the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) and has listed it as of “Least Concern”.

Source: Internet