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 Kingfisher
 Alcedo atthis

Key facts

Conservation listings: Europe: SPEC category 3 (depleted) (BiE04)
UK: amber (European status) (BoCC3)
Long-term trend: UK waterways: fluctuating, with no long-term trend
Population size: 3,800-6,400 pairs in 2009 (APEP13: 1988-91 Atlas estimate updated using CBC/BBS trend)

http://www.bto.org/birdtrends2010/images/kingf3CV300w.jpg

Status summary

The Kingfisher declined along linear waterways (its principal habitat) until the mid 1980s, since when it seems to have made a complete recovery. The decline was associated with a contraction of range in England (Gibbons et al. 1993). Kingfishers suffer severe mortality during harsh winters but, with up to three broods in a season, and up to six chicks in a brood, their potential for rapid population growth is unusually high. Amber listing of this species in the UK results from its 'depleted' status in Europe as a whole, following declines between 1970 and 1990 (BirdLife International 2004).


WBS/WBBS waterways graph


Population changes in detail
Demographic trends