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Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Rare to Ivvavik 4

This species is rare to Ivvavik National Park. If you see this species and manage to take a photo, please upload it to iNaturalist and/or send it to us directly at yukoncdc@gov.yk.ca. You will be helping us expand the scientific knowledge of this bird.

Physical description 5

Belted kingfishers are medium-sized, stocky birds. Their plumage is blue-gray, except for a white collar and belly.  Both sexes have a gray chest band, and females have an additional rufous-colored (reddish brown) chest band. Unlike most birds, it is females of this species that are conspicously colored. Their length ranges from 28-35 cm, with a head and bill that are large compared to their bodies. Their heads also has a very noticable, ragged, double-pointed crest that reaches from the base of the bill to the back of the neck. Juveniles closely resemble adult females in coloration.

Behaviour 6

Belted kingfishers use sight as their primary means of perception. Their eyes have two fovea which give them the advantage of precise depth perception. Oils within their eyes improve their ability to see color. Their eyes are protected by a nictitating membrane when diving for fish. This membrane does impede their vision so their sense of touch becomes increasingly important after the bird has entered the water. They close their bill when they feel contact with a prey item. All kingfishers are exceptionally vocal. Their calls are used for communication and claiming territory. Belted kingfishers exhibit at least six different calls which they combine in different ways to express different messages. The call most commonly heard by the casual observer is a call used for territory delineation, which is a long, high-pitched chatter or rattle.

Habitat 7

The habitat of belted kingfishers requires a body of water, often surrounded by forest, that features nearly vertical exposed earth for digging burrows in which it nests. Example habitats include lake or river banks, but also cuts from roads and railways and pits of sand and gravel. Acceptable bodies of water include rivers, ponds, streams, coasts, and lakes. Males seek higher-order waterways with more herbaceous plant life than trees, which have less obstructions that block nesting. The waters must be clear and have areas of smooth water so that belted kingfishers can detect prey. Higher, steeper banks are preferred as a defense against both flooding and predation. Availability of perches is also important for belted kingfishers as a visual vantage point for locating prey. Exposed banks are essential for shelter and nesting sites. Desirable breeding habitat characteristics are the same as desirable non-breeding habitats. Belted kingfishers occur up to 2743 meters elevation.

Reproduction 8

Belted kingfishers are seasonally monogamous. Pair bonds are formed soon after the male establishes his territory. During courtship, the male sings mewing songs to the female, and also feeds her. There are no known pre-copulatory displays, but after copulation, the male, followed by the female, often performs a flight display in which he soars and dips his wings close to the surface of the water. After mating, the pair digs a long tunnel (active nests have a tunnel at least 80cm long) into a wall of clay or sand. At the end, they dig a nesting cavity. Sometimes swallows will share the tunnel, making bungalows in the sides of the wall. Belted kingfishers are believed to select the nest site as a pair; they find an acceptable area and the male begins to slash at the substrate with his bill. The female is never perched far away, and will call to him continuously during this process. They also constantly rattle-call to each other during the actual digging of the tunnel, which is done by both sexes (Hamas, 1994; Fry, 1992).

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Rick Leche - Photography, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/64649343@N00/2841112888
  2. (c) Rick Leche - Photography, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/rick_leche/2329198029/
  3. (c) JanetandPhil, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/dharma_for_one/19788101995/
  4. (c) Yukon Conservation Data Centre, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
  5. Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/25065538
  6. Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31405172
  7. Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31405168
  8. Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/25065539

More Info

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Bird kingfisher
Color grey, white
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