This is a video of a beautiful kingfisher.

There are kingfishers living by the river Wandle in south London. To see photographs of kingfishers in south London go to: [ Ссылка ]

The species of kingfisher that lives by the river Wandle is the Common Kingfisher, also known as the Eurasian Kingfisher or River Kingfisher (alcedo atthis). It is a small bird with a blue back and orange breast. It has seven subspecies.

Male and female kingfishers are identical apart from the colour of their beaks. Male kingfishers have a completely black beak, whereas female kingfishers have an orange lower beak.

Although we see a kingfisher as a brightly coloured bird with a blue/green back, its feathers are actually brown. The reason the bird appears to be blue is due to the structure of its feathers, which cause a scattering of blue light.

This is the reason why kingfishers can appear bright blue one minute and emerald green the next. By changing the angle that the light falls on their feathers, they can alter the colours that are filtered and reflected back. This is known as the Tyndall effect.

The Common Kingfisher (alcedo atthis) is the only species of kingfisher found in the UK, and is usually spotted in southern or central England. There are only between 4,800 and 8,000 breeding pairs in the UK.

Due to their scarcity, kingfishers are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is illegal to capture, kill or hurt a kingfisher. You are also not allowed to harm a kingfisher's nest, eggs or young, or to intentionally disturb the birds.

In some cultures, kingfishers were believed to be messengers of good news. They were also seen as a symbol of calm, peacefulness, patience, bad omens, and fertility.

Kingfishers mainly like to eat fish, and prefer fish that are around 23mm in length. Since they don't dive to great depths, they eat small fish that come to the surface such as minnows and sticklebacks. They also eat insects, shrimps and tadpoles.

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