Common Kingfisher ( Alcedo atthis) Female - stock photo

L 17-19,5cm. Breeds at small and moderate sized fish-rich slow flowering waters and lakes with some trees and suitable nesting banks; also estuaries and coasts in winter. Perches motionless on lookout for small fish, caught following vertical dive. Also hovers occasionally when scanning. Rather shy and restless. Excavates nest and sandy bank, a good meter long tunnel leading to nest chamber, where young are reared on bed of piled fish bones. This beautiful colored Bird is quite common in the described Habitats in the Netherlands. It can suffered in numbers after severe Winters.