diagnostics
18 cm, 35-40 g. A medium-sized, brilliant blue water-associated kingfisher. Could be confused with juvenile Malachite Kingfisher Alcedo cristata. Sexes differ slightly in bill colour: all-black in males but red-based in females. Crown bright cobalt blue, barred black. Nape dark ultramarine blue, contrasting with brilliant azure blue back and rump. Uppertail coverts darker blue. Tail dark blue. Ear coverts blue, offset against large white blaze on side of neck. Lores darker, bordered above by narrow white patch. Throat white, grading to pale orange on breast and rich orange on belly, flanks and undertail coverts; large blue patch on side of breast. Scapulars and wing coverts dark greenish blue. Remiges black, edged green-blue. Eyes dark brown. Legs and feet vermillion red. Juvenile similar to adult, but paler orange below and breast sometimes with faint with dusky barring (Fry et al. 1988, Turpie 2005).
trophic
A strictly water-associated kingfisher, restricted to the immediate vicinity of fast-flowing, clear, perennial streams and rivers offering secluded conditions and dense marginal vegetation (Turpie 2005). It also frequents well-vegetated banks of lakes, dams, estuaries and coastal lagoons (Fry et al. 1988), and occasionally fishes in salt water in Eastern Cape Province (Maclean 1993). It occurs from sea-level to 2 000 masl and is most frequent in broken escarpment terrain (Clancey and Herremans 1997). It is timid and inconspicuous, remains motionless for long periods, and is easily overlooked. It is usually encountered singly or in pairs. Despite its reported shyness it also occurs along small dams and wooded streams and canals in urban and suburban areas. For construction of the nest tunnel, it requires vertical riverbanks, usually 1.0-1.5 m (0.3-4.5 m) high, facing the water, and with overhanging vegetation or tree roots to provide concealment. Tunnels may be used for successive broods and in successive years. Egg-laying occurs main in September to October, and occasionally in other months (Tarboton 2011). A generation of 4.4 years is provided by BirdLife International (2014). It is largely sedentary, but probably undergoes local movements off the central plateau with the decline of river run-off in the dry winter months (Clancey and Herremans 1997). The diet consists primarily of fish 30-70 mm in length, as well as crabs, amphibians and aquatic insects (Fry et al. 1988).
