Kingfisher is a group of birds that have large heads and long, heavy, pointed bills. There are dozens of species (kinds) of kingfishers. Many of them have a crest on the top of the head. All kingfishers have short legs and short stubby tails. The outer and middle toes of these birds are joined together by strong membranes. Kingfishers live throughout the world.
Kingfishers may be either woodland or water birds. The kookaburra, commonly found in Australia, is an example of a woodland kingfisher (see Kookaburra). The belted kingfisher, a water bird, is the only species commonly found in the United States. This bird is 11 to 14 inches (28 to 36 centimeters) long. Its upper parts and wings are colored deep blue, or bluish-gray with white markings. The underparts are white, and there is a broad collar of white around the neck. There is also a blue-gray band across the breast. The female has a rust-colored band below the blue-gray one.
The belted kingfisher may spend long hours sitting on a branch alongside a body of water watching for small fish that swim near the surface. Then, sometimes hovering for a moment in midair, the bird dives after a fish. Kingfishers usually seize their food, but they sometimes spear fish with their long bills. Then the fish is tossed into the air, caught, and swallowed headfirst. Kingfishers also eat crayfishes, frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, and insects.
Loading the player...Belted kingfisher
Belted kingfishers burrow in the steep walls of riverbanks or sandbanks. They dig a tunnel from 4 to 15 feet (1.2 to 4.6 meters) long with a larger hollow at the end where the birds build a nest of fish bones and scales. The female lays five to seven glossy white eggs. The male and female take turns sitting on the eggs.
