Curiosities About Kingfisher

This little bird surprises us with its special way of catching fish, but also with its electric blue and orange plumage.

There are many things to know about the kingfisher: it is one of the most particular species that populate our rivers and lakes. Despite being an elusive animal, barely visible, its appearance and habits are very interesting.

Among the different species of kingfisher , the common kingfisher ( Alcedo atthis ) is the best known.

This bird lives in the Iberian Peninsula all year round, although in some cases there are specimens that live further north of Europe and can reach as far as Spain; they are therefore migratory birds. Let’s find out how the kingfisher lives together.

Curiosities about the kingfisher: some colors that deceive

The kingfisher is a small bird, barely measuring as much as the palm of the hand.

The back of its body, head and wings are electric blue.

The belly is orange, while it has white parts on the throat. Despite its remarkable plumage, it can easily go unnoticed, as it is easily confused with water reflections.

Curiosity about the kingfisher: it has a very particular beak

Another of the most striking features of the kingfisher is its beak, which is large and black, with orange highlights. This anatomical part acts like a harpoon, which allows it to capture prey.

Thanks to this special beak, the kingfisher is particularly hydrodynamic, since it has to cross the water to hunt.

This reduces its speed by 200 times, and has even inspired the design of a high-speed train in China.

Kingfisher curiosity: hunting to the limit

One of the greatest difficulties for this coraciform bird is getting food : it must know exactly where the fish are underwater, despite the refraction of light.

For this reason, he is able to locate the fish in two ways: by means of two fovee in the eyes – the area of ​​maximum precision – and by raising and lowering his head rhythmically.

Thanks to these characteristics it is able to feed on small fish, which are its main food source.

To catch them, he closes his eyes when he crosses the water, then comes out again and swallows the fish, being very careful not to choke.

Other curiosities about the kingfisher

To perform these unique fishing maneuvers, among the curiosities of the kingfisher are the muscles of the wings, small but powerful, as well as those of the neck.

This bird builds its nest at the edge of rivers, but in a very particular way for birds: the kingfisher digs a burrow or reuses those of small mammals, such as mustelids or moles.

The kingfisher is also one of the birds most threatened by climate change and pollution caused by plastic waste.

In fact, the murky waters make it difficult or prevent it from fishing, so the pollution of the rivers greatly affects its survival.