Common kingfisher: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the common kingfisher lives – recorded in 82 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Alcedo atthis
Group	Woodpeckers, kingfishers, hornbills & toucans
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	82 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania
Mass	4.3 g (birth weight)
Class	Bird
Order	Coraciiformes
Family	Alcedinidae

Where does the common kingfisher live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the common kingfisher in 82 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Wikidata gives its range as: Nanling Mountains, Africa, Hefei, Indonesia.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is a common kingfisher?

Wikidata records the following for the common kingfisher: mass 4.3 g (birth weight).

Is the common kingfisher endangered?

The common kingfisher’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the common kingfisher?

The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is a bird in the order Coraciiformes and the family Alcedinidae, genus Alcedo. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the common kingfisher

The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.

This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptations to enable it to see prey under water. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Common kingfisher (revision 1379243991), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q79915 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).