Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is a small, 'roundish' bird with short wings, tail and legs. It has a large head and for its size somehow too large a beak. It is stretched to a length of 17 to 19.5 cm, of which the pointed beak measures about 4 cm. The wings, the top of the head and the stripe at the base of the beak are greenish-blue and speckled with light blue spots. Depending on the angle from which we view it, the color can change and pull more toward green. The back and tail are vividly blue, and this blueness also changes with the angle of observation from turquoise to cobalt blue. The lower part of the body and the cheeks are reddish-orange, the throat and the stripe on the neck are snow-white. The small legs of adults are light red, the beak is black. The sexes are similarly colored; a good observer will distinguish the female during nesting by the redness at the base of the underside of the beak, while the male's beak is entirely black.
Despite the lively colors of its plumage, it is surprisingly hard to spot, as it is quite shy, cautious, and fairly restless a bird. Also when during the day it sits on its favorite branch above the water, from which it looks out for small fish and aquatic insects, it blends with the surroundings unusually well. Thus we will first and most often notice it flying straight low over the water and whistling its: "zii". On the patrol of its territory, however, sometimes, similar to postovka, for a while it stops in the air and checks whether there is anything in the pool beneath it to peck at.
Here it can be observed year-round, but it typically nests from April to June. In a steep, usually sandy bank of streams or rivers it digs a tunnel about a meter long, which it then enlarges at the end into a nesting chamber. The female lays six or seven pale eggs there, which the parents feed with regurgitated fish pieces, and then during incubation both parents take turns.
The kingfisher's breeding success depends on the weather conditions in that year, as heavy rainfall at the wrong time can flood the nest and kill the chicks. Also long periods of sharp frost, when water bodies freeze, take their toll among kingfishers, which then do not get enough food. Most of all, the kingfisher is endangered by humans with their interventions in the natural environment – with the hardening of riverbanks and regulation of waterways, the habitat of this wonderful bird is degraded and disappears... in our country it is therefore listed as a highly endangered species on the Red List!
