Kingfisher: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Alcedinidae

Photos

A malachite kingfisher with bright blue and orange plumage perches on a branch in Mkuzi Game Reserve, South Africa.

belted kingfisher

Blue-winged kookaburra (Dacelo leachii) perched on a branch, showing brown, white, and bright blue feathers with a blurred green background.

See All Images →

Topics

shovel-billed kingfisher common kingfisher brown-winged kingfisher belted kingfisher ruddy kingfisher blue-banded kingfisher Marquesan kingfisher Sulawesi kingfisher Kookaburra Coraciiform Hornbill Wood hoopoe Roller Motmot Bee-eater Ground roller

Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

Animal Factoids

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

turkey vulture. vulture. Close-up of a head and beak of a Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura).

A Little Bird Told Me

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names