NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common Kingfisher
Alcedo atthis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
A Common Kingfisher in England.
Tony Wood · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
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 of a burrow in a riverbank.
Wikipedia contributors, Common kingfisher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:19:05.669950+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Alcedo atthis (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Common Kingfisher
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
- Genus
- Alcedo
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCoraciiformes
- familyAlcedinidae
- subfamilyAlcedininae
- genusAlcedo Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesAlcedo atthis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Alcedo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Shining-blue KingfisherAlcedo quadribrachys Bonaparte, 1850 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blyth's KingfisherAlcedo hercules Laubmann, 1917 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue-eared KingfisherAlcedo meninting Horsfield, 1821 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cerulean KingfisherAlcedo coerulescens Vieillot, 1818 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue-banded KingfisherAlcedo euryzona Temminck, 1830 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Half-collared KingfisherAlcedo semitorquata Swainson, 1823 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Australia
Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)
Oceania
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554549 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:667V7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.