Azure Kingfisher

Description:

The Azure Kingfisher is a small kingfisher with a long slender black bill and a short tail. The head, neck, upper parts and breast sides are deep azure blue with a violet (purplish) sheen. The neck has a distinctive orange stripe on each side and there is a small orange spot before each eye. The throat is pale orange-white, grading to orange-reddish on belly and undertail. The flanks and sides of the breast are washed purple to violet. The legs and feet are red. The sexes are similar. Young birds have a darker cap and are generally duller.

Habitat:

The Azure Kingfisher is never far from water, preferring freshwater rivers and creeks as well as billabongs, lakes, swamps and dams, usually in shady overhanging vegetation. It is sometimes seen in parks on rivers, as well as duck or goldfish ponds in urban areas.

Notes:

The Azure Kingfisher nests in a burrow dug out of a river bank.