AI overview
The Common Kingfisher is a small, brightly colored bird found across Europe, Asia, and North Africa that hunts fish and small aquatic animals by diving into water from overhanging branches. It matters as an indicator of healthy freshwater ecosystems and is popular in birdwatching and cultural traditions across its range.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Species
Least Concernkingfisher
Species
- PhylumChordata
- ClassAves
- OrderCoraciiformes
- FamilyAlcedinidae
Habitatfreshwater
via IUCN
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Alcedo
- Award
- Bird of the Year
- Mass
- +4.3
Article
The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.
This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptations to enable it to see prey under water. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank.