Common Kingfisher

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is a sparrow-sized kingfisher with brilliant blue upperparts, orange underparts, a large head, short tail and long pointed bill. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It watches clear rivers, ponds and coasts from a perch before diving for small fish, and excavates a nesting tunnel in an earthen bank; birds leave northern waters that freeze in winter. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. The Korean vertebrate catalogue used for this guide records the species in South Korea (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Korea occurrence records).