The common kingfisher, 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.
Region
Eurasia and North Africa
Typical Environment
Found across much of Europe, North Africa, and through temperate to subtropical Asia to Japan and Southeast Asia. Prefers clean, slow-flowing rivers and streams, lakes, ponds, canals, and quiet backwaters with abundant small fish and overhanging perches. Uses sandy or loamy banks for nesting burrows and requires undisturbed bankside vegetation. In winter, individuals may shift to unfrozen lowland waters, estuaries, and sheltered coasts where freshwater freezes.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This vivid blue-and-orange kingfisher is a specialist of clear, slow-moving waters where it hunts small fish by plunge-diving from low perches. It excavates long nesting tunnels in sandy or earthen banks, ending in a small chamber. Because it relies on good underwater visibility, it is sensitive to water pollution and habitat disturbance. Females can be told from males by the orange to reddish base on the lower mandible.
Common kingfisher in flight over Taudaha Lake, Kirtipur, Nepal
Volunteers in the Flemish Region of Belgium create a vertical bank in which common kingfishers have subsequently nested annually
Eggs of Alcedo atthis, MHNT
Male passing fish to female in spring courtship ritual
Male fishing in Italy's Po River
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, low over water
Social Behavior
Usually solitary outside the breeding season and strongly territorial along stretches of water. Pairs form in spring, digging a tunnel 30–90 cm into a vertical bank, where 5–7 eggs are laid. Both parents incubate and feed the young, often raising two broods per season when conditions allow.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations are sharp, high-pitched whistles, often a piercing ‘tsee’ or ‘chee’ given in flight. Calls are brief, carrying well over water, and used to announce presence and maintain contact; it lacks a complex song.
Plumage
Compact, with glossy blue to turquoise upperparts and rich orange underparts; crown and wings show fine blue spotting and a bright electric-blue rump. A white throat and small neck patch contrast with the orange face and chest. Sexes similar, though the female typically shows orange on the lower mandible. Feathers appear sleek and close-fitting, enhancing a streamlined profile.
Diet
Feeds chiefly on small fish such as minnows and sticklebacks, supplemented by aquatic insects, crustaceans, and occasionally tadpoles. Hunts by watching from a low perch, then diving headfirst to seize prey with its bill. Often beats prey against the perch to stun it and swallows fish headfirst. Regurgitates indigestible parts as pellets.
Preferred Environment
Forages along clear streams, rivers, ponds, and quiet lake margins with sheltered, overhanging perches. In colder months, it may shift to ice-free waters, including estuaries, sheltered coastal creeks, and spring-fed channels.
