The common kingfisher is also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher. It is very small, about the size of a sparrow, and has seven subspecies. It typically has green/blue upperparts with a pale azure/blue back and rump, a rufus patch by the bill base and a rufus ear-patch. It has a green/blue neck stripe, white neck blaze and throat, rufus underparts and a black bill with some red at the base. The legs and feet are bright red.
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| A front-side photo outside Polonnaruwa. |
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| It was next to a small stream and a mud stream bank. |
It has a short tail, large head and long bill. The subspecies vary by the differing hue of the upperparts and the intensity of the rufus color of the underparts. The subspecies we saw, Alcedo atthis taprobana, is found in Sri Lanka and southern India. It has bright blue upperparts, instead of a green/blue, like other subspecies. The back shines in the sunlight like a polished car finish. The female looks like the male, but the lower mandible is orange/red with a black tip.
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| A photo of the side in Bundala National Park. This appears to be a female. |
I got photos of this beautiful kingfisher in Bundala National Park , along the southern coast of Sri Lanka, and outside of Polonnaruwa, in central Sri Lanka.
The very metallic look of the blue feathers makes this bird easy to spot. They were beautiful in flight.
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