Common kingfisher

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.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Gracula atthis. The modern binomial name derives from the Latin alcedo, "kingfisher" (from Greek ἀλκυών, halcyon) and Atthis, a beautiful young woman of Lesbos, and favourite of Sappho.

The genus Alcedo comprises a number of small, exclusively fish-eating kingfishers. The common kingfisher’s closest relatives in the genus are three similar blue-backed, orange-breasted species, the blue-eared, half-collared and Blyth's kingfishers.