All Kingfishers

Family: ALCEDINIDAE

Kingfishers are a group of brightly coloured birds (many with metallic blue feathers), with short legs and tail, big heads, and long powerful beaks. They eat insects, small vertebrates, and some species take fish. They nest in burrows in the ground, in tree trunks, river banks, or termite mounds. The eggs are whitish and almost spherical. The family has a worldwide distribution. Some kingfishers give rather loud, harsh calls. The three front toes are partly fused at the base.

There are 15 species recorded in the Greater Sundas.