Common Kingfisher

The kingfisher (alcedo atthis) is a small bird.

Description
It is slightly bigger than a sparrow (16-17 cm in lenght). It is a very colorful bird: upperparts are iridescent blue-green, while underparts are orange. The front of the throat and the back of the neck are white. The bill is long and straight and is completely black in the male, and black with red base in the female. Feeet are small and weak, and red in color with black claws.

Behavior
It is a solitary bird and does not migrate.

Habitat and Nesting
It lives near water, especially streams and small lakes with clean water. It nests in holes along the banks of rivers.

Feeding
The common kingfisher eats mainly small fish, but also small anphibians and invertebrates (aquatic insects and small shellfish). To caych its prey, the kingfisher lurks on a branch or another perch over the water and waits. When it spots a fish, it dives quickly into the water and catches it with the beak, then flies back to the perch.