Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Kingfishers are one of Britain’s most interesting birds. Their vivid colour is iridescence, not pigment – the pigment is actually dark brown! Interference between different wavelengths of light reflected from different layers of the feathers produces blues, greens and oranges. The feathers on the bird’s back can seem blue or green depending on the angle at which they are viewed.
What do they sound like?
Watch video clips from past programmes (2 clips)
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Learning to fish
Kingfishers
Alan Titchmarsh finds that it's worth the wait to see one of the UK's most beautiful birds.
Featured in the following TV programmes
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Archived
The Nature of Britain: Freshwater Britain
Wildlife series. Alan Titchmarsh reveals the beauty and spectacle of Freshwater Britain.
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Archived
Living Britain: EARLY SUMMER
Episode 3/6 follows the changing seasons of Britain with the arrival of early summer.
About the Kingfisher
The Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, also known as Eurasian Kingfisher or 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 adaptions 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.
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Common Names
- Common kingfisher
- Eurasian kingfisher
- River kingfisher
The Kingfisher is
Adaptation data provided by Animal Diversity Web
Where can I see them?
This region contains the following habitats:
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder
Conservation Status
The Kingfisher is Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- LC - Least concern
Year assessed: 2008
Elsewhere on the web
- Kingfisher - Alcedo atthis (arkive.org)
- Alcedo atthis (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- Bird Guides: fact file and sightings (birdguides.com)
- Birdlife International: fact sheet (birdlife.org)
- RSPB: fact file (rspb.org.uk)
- Common Kingfisher (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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