Belted Kingfisher
(Megaceryle alcyon)
| Conservation Status | IUCN Red List |
LC - Least Concern |
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NatureServe |
N5B, N5N - Secure Breeding and Nonbreeding SNRB, SNRN - Unranked Breeding, Unranked Nonbreeding |
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Minnesota |
not listed |
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| Occurrence | Common migrant and breeder |
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| Habitat | Rivers, large streams, lakes, and beaver ponds |
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| Size | 11″ to 14″ in length 20″ wingspan |
Photo by Kate Fitzgerald | |||||
| Identification |
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| Food |
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| Nesting |
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| Migration | Early March to late November |
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| Comments | Taxonomy |
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| Taxonomy | Order: |
Coraciiformes (kingfishers and relatives) |
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Family: |
Cerylidae (cerylid kingfishers) |
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| Synonyms | Ceryle alcyon Megaceryle alcyon alcyon Megaceryle alcyon caurina |
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| Visitor Photos | |||
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| Lynn Rubey | |||
A female Belted Kingfisher perched on a branch over a stream waiting for its next meal near the bridge in The Big Stone Wildlife Refuge in Lac qui Parle County. |
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A female Belted Kingfisher hanging out on a branch over a stream in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge. The female Belted Kingfisher has a rusty colored breast band and flank. |
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A Female Belted Kingfisher on a dead tree limb over a stream near the Minnesota River in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge along the auto tour route. |
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| Dan W. Andree | |||
Kingfisher..... I believe this is a Kingfisher. I noticed it perched high above a stream on a dead tree limb in front of a sand cliff in rural Norman Co. Mn. It appeared to be watching the water area below possibly for any small fish etc. swimming in the stream. Made for an interesting photo. |
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| Kate Fitzgerald | |||
I heard this Kingfisher make a loud SPLAT into the lake before I saw him fly up into a tree. I expected him to be carrying his catch, but apparently it got away from him because he was empty-handed. |
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| MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos | |||
| Slideshows | ||
| Belted Kingfisher JMC Nature Photos |
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| Belted Kingfisher jt893x |
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| Belted Kingfisher Joshua Mayer |
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About
Ceryle alcyon |
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| Kingfishers Craig A. Mullenbach |
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| Visitor Videos | |||
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| Other Videos | |||
| Hastings Park Megaceryle alcyon wetvideocamera |
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About
Uploaded on Feb 8, 2011 This female Belted Kingfisher was on the alert for fish in the ponds at Hastings Park Sanctuary, Vancouver, BC. While waiting for some action the kingfisher's rival, the Great Blue Heron waded through behind. ( Megaceryle alcyon ) July 2003 |
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| Belted Kingfisher naturalist97333 |
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About
Published on Dec 20, 2009 Belted Kingfishers are both elegant and comical. Enjoy watching kingfishers call, fish and express themselves with their crazy Mohawk crest. |
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| Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) Carl Barrentine |
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About
Published on May 28, 2013 This female Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) was photographed at the Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (28 May 2013). |
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| Belted Kingfisher HD720 Sparky Stensaas |
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About
Published on Oct 6, 2013 With apologies to Kevin Costner and the creators of the movie, Field of Dreams, I have modified the phrase "Build it and they will come." to "Place it and they will come" and by "it" I'm referring to a convenient perch for a bird. In this case, I had often seen and heard Belted Kingfishers at a nearby marsh. But they were usually perched far out in the water (Where there were perches!). Not great for photos. Plus, Kingfishers are one of the most spooky of all birds...Meaning they fly at the first sight of a human. So I found a spot on the edge of the marsh where I could get a clear view of the water. I found a good looking perch in my woods at home, hauled it to the spot and stuck it in the mud. I set up my pop-up blind about 20 yards away and waited....But I didn't have to wait very long as a Belted Kingfisher found the perch within 15 minutes! |
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| Belted Kingfisher with Wingscapes BirdCam Wingscapes |
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About
Uploaded on Dec 23, 2007 The Wingscapes BirdCam http://www.wingscapes.com/ took this video of this female Belted Kingfisher as it fished from the top of a lakeside fish feeder. A new Bird Camera, BirdCam 2.0 with Flash, is available at http://www.wingscapes.com. It takes photos and videos of backyard birds and wildlife while you are away. Please feel free to leave comments and rate our videos. |
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| Visitor Sightings | ||||
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This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location. |
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| Lynn Rubey 5/11/2020 |
Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge A female Belted Kingfisher perched on a branch over a stream waiting for its next meal near the bridge in The Big Stone Wildlife Refuge in Lac qui Parle County. |
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| Lynn Rubey 8/20/2019 |
Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge A female Belted Kingfisher hanging out on a branch over a stream in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge. The female Belted Kingfisher has a rusty colored breast band and flank. |
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| Dan W. Andree 7/21/2019 |
Location: rural Norman Co., Mn. I believe this is a Kingfisher. I noticed it perched high above a stream on a dead tree limb in front of a sand cliff in rural Norman Co. Mn. It appeared to be watching the water area below possibly for any small fish etc. swimming in the stream. Made for an interesting photo. |
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| Kate Fitzgerald 7/28/2018 |
Location: Lake Louise State Park I heard this Kingfisher make a loud SPLAT into the lake before I saw him fly up into a tree. I expected him to be carrying his catch, but apparently it got away from him because he was empty-handed. |
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| Gloria Pfeifer 4/9/2016 |
Location: north shore of Lake Minnewaska, 1.5 miles from Starbuck,Mn we see one Belted Kingfisher on our shoreline every year, it stays for the summer, it sits in the trees along the shore and on the dock |
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| MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings | ||||
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