COMMON KINGFISHER

Description:

The Sri Lanka common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis taprobana ) is a sub specie of the Eurasian kingfisher. Also known as the 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. This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upper parts, 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. Alcedo atthis taprobana has more bright blue and orange than the rest of the other sub species of its kind.

Habitat:

The common kingfisher is widely distributed over Europe, Asia, and North Africa, mainly It is a common breeding species over much of its vast Eurasian range, but in North. In temperate regions, this kingfisher inhabits clear, slow-flowing streams and rivers, and lakes with well-vegetated banks. It frequents scrubs and bushes with overhanging branches close to shallow open water in which it hunts. Tropical populations are found by slow-flowing rivers,