Common Kingfisher

The common kingfisher, also called the Eurasian or river kingfisher, is a small, sparrow-sized bird with the typical short-tailed, big-headed, long-billed kingfisher profile. It has blue upperparts, orange underparts and, in the western European subspecies, bright red legs. It is about 16 cm long with a wingspan of about 25 cm. Seven subspecies are recognised across a wide range in Eurasia and North Africa (Wikipedia, general species account).

It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptations for seeing prey underwater. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank. It is resident over much of its range but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.