Bird Guide

Blue-eared Kingfisher vs Common Kingfisher

Blue-eared Kingfisher (Alcedo meninting)

Blue-eared Kingfisher

Alcedo meninting

Small20 gRiverine

This 16 centimetres (6.3 in) long kingfisher is almost identical to the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) but is distinguished by the blue ear coverts, darker and more intense cobalt-blue upperparts with richer rufous under parts. The juvenile blue-eared kingfisher has rufous ear-coverts as in the common kingfisher but it usually shows some mottling on the throat and upper breast which disappears when the bird reaches adulthood. Young birds have a reddish bill with whitish tips.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Paulo Philippidis from San Jose California, USA · CC BY 2.0
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

Common Kingfisher

Alcedo atthis

Small31 gRiverine

This species has the typical short-tailed, dumpy-bodied, large-headed, and long-billed kingfisher shape. The adult male of the western European subspecies, A. a. ispida has green-blue upperparts with pale azure-blue back and rump, a rufous patch by the bill base, and a rufous ear-patch. It has a green-blue neck stripe, white neck blaze and throat, rufous underparts, and a black bill with some red at the base. The legs and feet are bright red. It is about 16 cm (6+1⁄2 in) long with a wingspan of 25 cm (10 in), and weighs 34–46 g (1+3⁄16–1+5⁄8 oz).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Common Kingfisher
Recorded by Noé Ferrari · Flight call · Arrondissement d'Abbeville (near Abbeville), Somme, Hauts-de-France, France · CC BY 4.0
Photo: Julien Fougeroux · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Blue-eared Kingfisher and Common Kingfisher.