Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon (Linnaeus, 1758) BELKI 8340
Family: Coraciiformes > Alcedinidae

Much larger than our Kingfisher this extremely rare visitor from North America has a grey (male) or russet (female) breast band.

Like our Kingfisher, the Belted Kingfisher nests in a burrow it excavates in a riverbank; this may be up to 2.5 m in length.

Select a topic for more facts and statistics about the Belted Kingfisher

  • Breeding
  • Winter
116 records observations recorded by BTO surveyors
116 records

BTO RECORDS

116 records observations recorded by BTO surveyors
116 records

BTO RECORDS

Identification

Develop your bird ID skills with our training courses

Our interactive online courses are a great way to develop your bird identification skills, whether you're new to the hobby or a competent birder looking to hone your abilities.

Browse training courses

Status and Trends

Population size and trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO surveys and atlases with data collected by BTO volunteers.

CONSERVATION STATUS

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

POPULATION SIZE

We have no population estimates for this scarce species.

SEASONALITY

Belted Kingfisher is an extremely rare vagrant; these records are relate to one elusive but long-staying individual.

Weekly occurence of Belted Kingfisher from BirdTrack
Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells) and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.

Movement

Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

RINGING RECOVERIES

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information about Belted Kingfisher, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

PRODUCTIVITY & NESTING

Sample sizes are too small to report Productivity and Nesting statistics for this species.

BIOMETRICS

Sample sizes are too small to report Biometrics for this species.

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

CODES & CLASSIFICATION

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Catalan: alció gegant nord-americà
Czech: rybarík pruhoprsý
Danish: Bæltestødfisker
Dutch: Bandijsvogel
Estonian: põhja-kuningkalur
Finnish: sepelkalastaja
French: Martin-pêcheur d’Amérique
German: Gürtelfischer
Hungarian: örvös halkapó
Icelandic: Beltaþyrill
Irish: Cruidín Creasa
Italian: Martin pescatore americano
Latvian: pelekais dzenitis
Lithuanian: baltapilvis keršasis tulžys
Norwegian: Belteisfugl
Polish: rybaczek popielaty
Portuguese: guarda-rios-cintado
Slovak: rybárec modrosivý
Slovenian: kraljevi pasat
Spanish: Martín gigante norteamericano
Swedish: bälteskungsfiskare

Links to more studies from ConservationEvidence.com

Would you like to search for another species?