Kingfisher

🔍 Overview

A flash of electric blue by Sussex waters — the Kingfisher is small but striking, and the emblem of healthy rivers.

🪶 Key Identification Features

Size: Tiny (16–17 cm)
Plumage: Bright blue back, orange underparts
Distinctive Marks: Large head, dagger bill
Bill: Long and black
Tail: Short and square
Flight: Fast, direct, just above water

🗺️ Habitat & Distribution

Along clean streams and rivers— River Adur, Shoreham Harbour, Brooklands and Widewater—nesting in banks.

🎶 Voice & Behaviour

High-pitched trill “chrrt.” Dives headfirst for fish.

🍴 Diet

Small fish, aquatic invertebrates.

📸 Birding Tip

Find perches before dawn or dusk; hold steady—flash is too quick to track.