Species

Belted kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

A shaggy-crested, blue-grey kingfisher that rattles along creeks and plunges head first for fish.

Photo Justin Flint (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Nesting

At a glance

Size: About 28 to 35 cm long
Weight: About 110 to 180 g
Habitat: Streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and coastal creeks
Diet: Small fish, crayfish, frogs and insects
In Georgia: Common all year; more numerous in winter
Voice: A loud, dry rattle
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Big head with a shaggy crest; long, heavy bill; blue-grey back and breast band; females also have a rusty band across the belly
Told apart from: Blue jay, which has a small bill and a black necklace
Where to look: Perched on wires and branches over water, or flying low along streams, rattling

Behaviour

Belted kingfishers hover or perch over water, then dive head first to catch fish. They beat prey against a branch before swallowing it head first.

They dig nest burrows up to two metres long in earthen banks.

Why they matter

The belted kingfisher is unusual among birds in that the female is more colourful than the male. It depends on clear water to see fish and on bare earthen banks for nesting, so it reflects the health of streams.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A burrow dug into an earthen bank
Eggs — Usually five to eight
Incubation — About 22 to 24 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about four weeks
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Earthen banks along streams and in gravel pits are nesting sites; they are easily lost to bank-armouring.
Kingfishers sometimes hit windows near water.

Misconceptions

The brighter bird is always the male. In kingfishers the female has the extra rusty band.

Related species

Green heron

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering birds join residents	Present	Pairs digging burrows	Nesting	Chicks	Young fledging	Young learning to fish	Present	Migrants arriving	Present	Present	Present

Where it lives

Recorded in 94 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

Answer a few questions and you will get a specific answer for what you are looking at.

I found an animal