The Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

Date:

Comments:

Also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a relatively small bird with seven subspecies recognized across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.

It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The binomial name derives from the Latin alcedo, ‘kingfisher’ and Atthis, a beautiful young woman of Lesbos, and favourite of Sappho, a Greek poet.

The flight of the kingfisher is fast, direct and usually low over water ,shows an turquoise-blue “flash” down its back. It has two fovea, enabling to negate the effects of refraction to hunt fish underwater. And it has monocular vision in air, and binocular vision in water. Sexes are identical except that the female lower mandible is orange-red with a black tip and in males its all black.

Shot in Coorg, Karnataka
April 2025
Dr. Bishan Monnappa

Subscribe to our WhatsApp Group for Curated News Notifications

Click on the link below to join our WhatsApp Group to get notified about more stories like this - https://chat.whatsapp.com/HJJvCovlLoO6PSG4FPBohV

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

The maximum upload file size: 100 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

Recent Comments

Col Ranbir Singh Bhadauria on A Nondescript Hockey Final
Sagar Ganapathy Apparanda on A Nondescript Hockey Final
I M Machaiah on A Nondescript Hockey Final
Santosh Poovaiah on A Nondescript Hockey Final
Sunitha machaya on A Nondescript Hockey Final
Naveen Thimmaiah on A Nondescript Hockey Final

CLICK to Join our WhatsApp Group

spot_img

More Posts
Related

Planter killed in wild elephant attack

Chinnappa (76) died when a wild elephant attacked him ...

IPL DOT BALL TREE PLANTATION

The craze for watching IPL is legendary. As the...

Operation underway to capture Tiger which has been attacking cattle

Elephants Gopi and Sriram from Dubare Elephant Camp have...

FIELD DAY ON MAHSEER CONSERVATION

Coorg Wildlife Society has been working to protect and...