The Belted Kingfisher

Kingfishers live along the banks of streams, rivers and lakes, where they catch fish near the surface or in shallow water. People often hear these alert birds before seeing them. The rattle call is given freely, both as an alarm signal and during territorial disputes. Mated pairs use a softer version of the same call to communicate with each other. Both males and females defend individual territories, calling stridently and flying at and attacking intruding kingfishers. A territory may include 1,000 yards of stream or lake bank.

The belted Kingfisher is one of the few North American birds where the female is more colorful than the male, which lacks the rufous colored belly band. Migrating kingfishers return to Pennsylvania in March and April (others may have stayed through the winter, if streams did not freeze over). Breeding peaks in early May. Nesting occurs in deep tunnels dug into high vertical stream banks.

Pennsylvania is veined with streams, and kingfishers are widely distributed across our state. The birds are absent from places such as southern Clearfield County, where acid mine drainage has polluted long sections of waterways. Stream channelization destroys the vertical banks needed for nesting.

Text reference: Chuck Fergus, Pennsylvania Game Commission. Photo by Robert Hayes Cummins, Ohio Bird Collection.

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