Birds · Coraciiformes · Alcedinidae

Common Kingfisher

Alcedo atthis

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

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A single brood of 7 chicks can get through around 1,000 fish while they are still in the nest.

Weight

30 g – 45 g

Size

16 cm – 17 cm

Lifespan

2 years

Diet

Piscivore

Feeds mainly on fish.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

FreshwaterPiscivore Diurnal Solitary Bird Freshwater

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Fun facts

Each chick goes from barely 3 grams at hatching to around 30 by the time it leaves the nest.
It is fiercely territorial because of how much it needs to eat each day.
It catches small fish by diving, supplemented with crustaceans and aquatic insects.
comportamientoAs it dives from its perch it corrects for the way refraction shifts a fish's apparent position before it strikes.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Banks of clear rivers, lakes and wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa
Birth weight: ~3 g at hatching, blind and naked
Size at birth: ~3 g at hatching
Sexual maturity: 1 year
Gestation / incubation: 19-21 days
Litter / clutch size: 2 to 10 eggs per clutch (most commonly 5-7), with 2-3 broods a year

Sources consulted: Via Pontica; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Animal Diversity Web; EBSCO Research Starters; Woodland Trust; The Animal Facts; Wikipedia (Common kingfisher)