What are kingfishers?

What are kingfishers?

Kingfishers are a group of birds that make up the bird family Alcedinidae. They are found on every continent on Earth except for Antarctica. Kingfishers can easily be easily recognized by their relatively large heads and beaks. They typically have short tails are are sometimes brightly colored. They are carnivorous (meat-eating) and often nest in burrows that they dig into banks.

Do kingfishers eat fish?

Kingfishers are carnivorous, meaning that they eat other animals. Some kingfishers do eat fish, whereas other feed mostly on insects or larger terrestrial animals like lizards and snakes. Some even eat other birds!

Kingfishers that eat fish plunge dive, meaning that they dive into the water at high speeds in order to catch fish. They can reach 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour) as they enter the water! One mystery about diving kingfishers is how they can dive into water at high speeds without injuring their brains. Scientists have studied the genetics of diving kingfishers and compared them to kingfishers that do not dive. They found some common gene variants in the diving kingfishers that they think may help protect the brains of these birds, but more research is needed.

How many species of kingfisher are there and where do they live?

Kingfishers are divided into 18 genera and more than 100 species. They are found nearly worldwide, but they are not distributed evenly in every part of the world. Most species occur in tropical Asia, Australia, and islands in the Pacific.

Kingfishers of Europe

The common kingfisher or river kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is the only kingfisher found in Europe. This kingfisher has teal and orange feathers and hunts along rivers, diving for fish. In addition to Europe, the common kingfisher can be found in small parts of northern Africa and in large regions of Asia.

Kingfishers of Africa

Six genera and about 20 species of kingfishers are found in Africa and Madagascar. These range from the tiny African dwarf kingfisher (Ispidina lecontei), which is about 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) in length, to the the giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima), which ranges from 42 to 46 cm (about 16.5 to 18 inches) in length.

Kingfishers of Asia

Ten genera and about 40 species of kingfishers are found in Asia. In this region, the relatively large stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capentsis) eats mostly crabs, although it will also hunt many other animals, including other birds. An unusual blue, black, and white kingfisher, the white-rumped kingfisher (Caridonax fulgidus) is found only on the Lesser Sunda Islands (in Indonesia) and eats insects. Two other diverse kingfisher genera (Ceyx and Todirampus) have many species that live on islands in this region, especially in the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Maluku Islands (Moluccas).

Kingfishers of Australia, New Guinea, and the Pacific islands

Six genera and more than 50 species of kingfishers are found in Australia, New Guinea, and on Pacific islands. The most famous of the kingfishers from this region are undoubtedly the kookaburras (Dacelo), five species found in Australia, New Guinea, and on other islands. 

Two diverse kingfisher genera (Ceyx and Todirampus) have many species that live on islands in this region. Examples are the Pohnpei kingfisher (Todiramphus reichenbachii), which is found only on the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia, and the Makira dwarf-kingfisher (Ceyx gentianus), which lives only on the island of Makira in the Solomon Islands.

Paradise-kingfishers (Tanysiptera) are a group of about nine species of unusual kingfishers that live in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands. Unlike other kingfishers, the paradise-kingfishers have extremely long tails. They feed mostly on larvae, invertebrates, snails, and other small terrestrial animals.

Kingfishers of the Americas

Only 2 genera and six species of kingfishers are found in the Americas. Three of the American species—the Amazon kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona), the American pygmy kingfisher (Chloroceryle aenea), and the green-and-rufous kingfisher (Chloroceryle inda)—are found mostly in the neotropics, from Mexico to northern South America. The ringed kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata) is the only kingfisher found in southern South America, although its range extends north into Mexico and southernmost Texas.

The green kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) ranges as far north as Texas and as far south as northern Argentina. The belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), which is found from Alaska and northern Canada to the northern coast of South America, is the only kingfisher that is found widely in North America north of Mexico.

Are kingfishers threatened or endangered?

Many species of kingfishers are not currently threatened or endangered. Nevertheless, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) lists more than 30 species as vulnerable or near threatened, and an additional four are considered critically endangered. 

Habitat loss threatens some species of kingfishers. Some natural habitats where kingfishers live are being cleared to harvest wood, to make fields for agriculture, or for development. One kingfisher that is critically endangered, the Javan blue-banded kingfisher (Alcedo euryzona), is threatened by habitat loss due to land clearing on the island of Java in Indonesia. Likewise, most of the habitat of the critically endangered Sangihe dwarf-kingfisher (Ceyx sangirensis) has been cleared for agriculture or replanted with trees that are not native to the island of Sangihe, also in Indonesia.

Some other kingfishers are threatened by predatory invasive species that eat birds, nestlings, or eggs. Invasive species are a particular problem for kingfishers that live on islands, which may have very limited ranges and relatively small populations. Domestic cats, rats, snakes, and even owls have impacted kingfisher populations on islands. The only kingfisher that is considered extinct in the wild, the Guam kingfisher (Todiramphus cinnamominus), was decimated by the brown tree snake, which was introduced to the island in the 1940s.

The lost kingfishers

Several nonprofit bird conservation organizations have launched a list called the “Search for Lost Birds.” The “lost” birds are birds for which there has not been a documented observation in at least a decade. A documented observation is an observation that has evidence, like a photo. Three kingfishers—the manus dwarf-kingfisher (Ceyx dispar), the Sangihe dwarf-kingfisher (Ceyx sangirensis, mentioned above), and the plain-backed kingfisher (Actenoides regalis)—were included on the list in 2024. None of these has yet been declared extinct in the wild, unlike the Guam kingfisher. The Sangihe dwarf-kingfisher has been lost for the longest time. It was last documented more than 180 years ago.

The Manus dwarf-kingfisher lives only on the island of Manus, one of the Admiralty Islands, which are a group of islands to the northeast of New Guinea. This species was last documented in 2002, although more recent sightings have been reported. The Manus dwarf-kingfisher is listed as near threatened, but little is known about it.

The plain-backed kingfisher lives only on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It has not been documented for more than 90 years. Many resources consider this bird to be a subspecies of the scaly-breast kingfisher (Actenoides princeps). Regardless of its status, the plain-backed kingfisher is vulnerable.