---
title: "Common Kingfisher"
description: "Alcedo atthis — Uccelli. The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/common-kingfisher
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Common Kingfisher

> Alcedo atthis — Uccelli. The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa.

- Scientific name: *Alcedo atthis*
- Category: `birds` (Uccelli)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Laghi e fiumi)
- iNaturalist observations: 63741
- Wikidata: [Q79915](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q79915)
- iNaturalist taxon: [2599](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/2599)

## Names

- en: Common Kingfisher
- de: Eisvogel
- es: Martín pescador euroasiático
- fr: Martin-pêcheur d'Europe
- nl: Ijsvogel
- pt: Guarda-rios-comum
- pl: Zimorodek zwyczajny

## Countries with the most observations

DE (4814), FR (4503), IN (4420), GB (4252), RU (4014), TW (3364), JP (3316), IT (3284), ES (2910), CN (2867), HK (1379), PT (1375)

## Summary

The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and 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, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.
This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, 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…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_kingfisher

## Photo

![Common Kingfisher](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/common-kingfisher/medium.jpg)

Photo: Wouter Koch · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3614281

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/common-kingfisher?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).