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This page lists books about kingfishers in the UK and worldwide. The books are listed in order of publication date with the most recent at the top.

Kookaburra page

Kingfishers

In the UK

Common Kingfisher
Alcedo atthis

Worldwide

There are approximately 90 species of kingfishers worldwide. The majority of these are found in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Pacific and Indian Ocean islands.

RSPB Spotlight: Kingfishers

David Chandler

2017

"With their long, dagger-like bills, bright blue plumage and characteristic fast, low flight over water, Common Kingfishers are instantly recognisable. The 90 or so species that belong to this colourful family have a cosmopolitan distribution and, in RSPB Spotlight: Kingfishers, David Chandler celebrates their remarkable existence, studying their unique adaptations and their courtship, breeding and feeding habits. He also investigates historical threats to Kingfishers, considers their future, and offers practical advice on how to find and see these glorious birds."

Kingfisher

David Chandler and Ian Llewwllyn

2010

"Usually encountered as a flash of blue or orange seen from the riverbank, most people are aware of the Kingfisher, but few are familiar with the intricacies of its day-to-day life. Here its remarkable existence is celebrated through a series of stunning chapters with images depicting courtship, nesting, fishing, winter survival and other important events in the lives of Kingfishers, which are further brought to life through the eloquent accompanying text which is enlivened by personal anecdotes from the author and photographer."

Kingfisher: Tales from the Halcyon River

Charlie Hamilton Jones

2009

"The kingfisher is one of the most bewitching of birds - strikingly beautiful in colour, unmistakably elegant in profile, incomparable when plunge-diving for its food. It is shy, solitary and hard to spot when it perches motionless on a branch above the water, ready to strike the moment of fish appears. It is also notoriously difficult to photograph, which makes Charlie Hamilton James' achievement in producing "Kingfisher: Tales from the Halcyon River" all the more remarkable. From a hide attached to his home by a West Country river, and from a number of vantage points along that river, he has watched and photographed kingfishers for literally thousands of hours, starting work before dawn and continuing until there is too little light for him to see. This dedication has enabled him to build up a unique photographic portfolio, showing behaviours that have not appeared in scientific papers. We see kingfishers courting and mating, rearing their chicks, hunting and defending a territory."

Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 6: Mousebirds to Hornbills

Edited by Josep Del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott and Jordi Sargatal

Lynx Edicions

2001

589 pages, 46 colour plates, 330 colour photos, 258 distribution maps.

This volume covers mousebirds, trogons, kingfishers, todies, motmots, bee-eaters, rollers, ground-rollers, cuckoo-rollers, hoopoes, wood-hoopoes and hornbills.

Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers

C. Hilary Fry and Kathie Fry

Helm Identification Guides

Helm

1999

"Dazzling in their beauty, many of the 123 species of kingfisher, bee-eater and roller are very poorly known. This reference provides a review of the group showing every species, all the main races and most sex and age variations. Text and plates are closely co-ordinated with emphasis on behaviour, field characters and identifcation. Colour maps showing breeding and wintering ranges are also included."

Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers

C. Hilary Fry and Kathie Fry

Princeton University Press

1999

"Few birds can match the dazzling beauty of kingfishers, bee-eaters, and rollers. Until now no comprehensive treatment of these families has appeared in a single volume. This authoritative guide provides an up-to-the-minute review of all that is known about the world's 123 species. The forty magnificient plates by Alan Harris show every species, all main subspecies, and most sex and age variations - 350 portraits in all. For easy reference, color maps showing breeding and wintering ranges appear opposite the plates. Text and plates are carefully coordinated, with emphasis on behavior, field characters, and identification; and the species accounts, which form the bulk of the book, are liberally illustrated with line drawings."

Kingfishers & Kookaburras: Jewels of the Australian Bush

David Hollands

1999

"There are ten species of kingfishers and kookaburras in Australia: one of the most spectacular and well-known group of birds. They are raucous, colourful and much loved. This book consists of ten essays, one on each bird, accompanied by spectacular photographs. The book includes field notes of the birds, and distribution maps."

Kingfishers

Charlie Hamilton James

1997

"An introduction to kingfishers which considers their behaviour and adaptations as well as the ecology, setting and nature of populations in the British Isles, and an overview of the kingfisher in Europe."

Kingfishers Of The World

Leslie Knowles

Times Editions

1995

"A guide to the 86 species of kingfisher. The text comprises an introductory section which provides a description and history of the family. trated guide to all 86 recognised species. The introductory section gives a generalised description and history of the family. Individual species accounts give detailed information on identification, location, habitat, food, voice and nesting. Includes colour plates, showing all 86 species, and distribution maps."

Cuckoos, Nightbirds and Kingfishers of Australia

Editor: Ronald Strahan

The National Photographic index of Australian Wildlife

Angus & Robertson

1994

"This volume includes some non-passerine families: cuckoos, owls, frogmouths, nightjars, owlet nightjars, swifts, kingfishers, and bee-eaters; and some passerine families: pittas, lyrebirds, scrub-birds, larks, swallows, pipits, wagtails, cuckooshrikes, trillers and bulbuls. Full descriptions are accompanied by colour photographs and distribution maps."

Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers

C. Hilary Fry and Kathie Fry

Helm Identification Guides

Helm

1992

"A guide to the 123 species of Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Individual species accounts describe identification, field characters, behaviour, ecology and natural history. Three colour distribution maps show breeding and wintering ranges. The illustrations show every species, main subspecies and most sex and age variations."

The Kingfishers of Sub-Saharan Africa

Phillip A. Clancey

1992

212 page monograph the covers 20 species of Sub-Saharan kingfishers with information about distribution, status, habitat, natural history and identification. Includes 23 full page colour plates and distribution maps.

Kingfisher

Paolo Fioratti

1992

"This comprehensive study of the Kingfisher is the result of many years observations by the author. With the aid of 140 specially taken photographs, he details the whole life cycle of the Kingfisher - feeding, communication, establishing and defending territory, pair formation, nest building and death. Also discussed is the threat posed to the future of the birds by the destruction of the habitats in which they live."

The Kingfisher

David Boag

1986

"A study of the Kingfisher in the UK. Sections are: The Kingfisher; Territorial Aggression; Feeding; Breeding and Watching Kingfishers."

Kingfishers and Related Birds

Joseph Forshaw and William T. Cooper

1983 to 1994

The most complete and important monograph on this group of birds ever published, with text by Joseph Forshaw, an acknowledged authority, and colour plates by William Cooper. The edition was limited to 1,000 signed and numbered copies. The work was published in three parts. Each part comprised two volumes.

Part I: Alcedinidae
- Volume 1: Ceryle to Cittura
- Volume 2: Halcyon to Tanysiptera

Part II: Todidae to Phoeniculidae
- Volume 3: Todidae, Momotidae and Meropidae
- Volume 4: Leptosomatidae, Coraciidae, Upupidae and Phoeniculidae

Part III: Bucerotidae
- Volume 5: Bucorvus to Anthracoceros
- Volume 6: Buceros to Ceratogymna

The Kingfisher

David Boag

1982

"This book is based on the author's seven year study of the bird. It describes the bird's habitat, territorial bahaviour, courtship, nest building, hatching and development of the young and feeding."

The Kingfisher

Rosemary Eastman

1969

"From photographic hides the Eastmans were able to record for the first time the intimate habits of the Kingfisher : the unerring aim of its lightning underwater dive - the final stage of which is executed with eyes closed ; its courtship proceedings; its nest excavating techniques; curiosities of its diet; its nesting, breeding and fledging habits; its territorial calls."

A Revision Of The Classification Of The Kingfishers

W. DeW. Miller

Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History

1912

Introduction:

"The purpose of the present paper is mainly two-fold, first: to establish the proper subfamily divisions of the Alcedinidae; second, to bring out the characters and relationships of the three genera currently united under Ceryle. The conclusions are based on all available material both in the form of skins and skeletons, and lists of the species examined are appended. The first list includes members of every currently recognized genus of the family. Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell's paper 'On the Anatomy of the Kingfishers' has been drawn upon for the myological characters. The greater part of the material used is in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History. For the loan of additional specimens I am much indebted to the United States National Museum, through Dr. Charles W. Richmond, to the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, through Mr. Robert C. Murphy, and to Mr. James H. Fleming of Toronto."

Kingfisher

Sir Edward Grey

Educational Series No. 5

Society for the Protection of Birds

1890's

A 4 page guide that provides a brief description and information on distribution, numbers, food, characteristics, protection, plus one and a half pages of general remarks.

Catalogue Of The Picariae In The Collection Of The British Museum

Catalogue Of The Birds In The British Museum, Volume XVII

R. Bowdler Sharpe

Printed By Order Of The Trustees

Sold by: Longman & Co.; B. Quaritch; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.; and at the British Museum (Natural History)

1892

From the preface:

"The present Volume contains an account of the remaining families of the suborder Coraciae as understood by Seebohm, as well as of the Halcyones, Bucerotes, and Trogones. The numbers of the species of the nine families treated of, and of the specimens at present in the Collection, are as follows: Leptosomatidae, 2; Coraciidae, 25; Meropidae, 36; Alcedinidae, 183; Momotidae, 21; Todidae, 5; Coliidae, 10; Bucerotidae, 68; Trogonidae, 47. Of these 397 species, only 16 are wanting to the collection of the Museum, and more than one-fourth of them are represented by the types; but besides these there are 30 other typical specimens now considered identical with previously named species. In many cases the series of specimens is sufficiently complete to illustrate the whole geographical range of a species - a result chiefly due to the accession of the great faunistic collections referred to in the previous volumes, and also to numerous recent donations, of which those made by the Lords of the Admiralty, Dr. Jayakar, W. D. Gumming, Esq., and Captain Mochler Ferryman should be specially mentioned. The Tweeddale Collection contained nearly the whole of the materials described in Dr. 8harpe's Monograph of the Alcedinidae."

A Monograph Of The Alcedinidae Or Family Of Kingfishers

R.B. Sharpe

Published by the author

1868

From the introduction:

"I OWE the suggestion of the present Monograph to Mr. W. J. Williams, of the Zoological Society, who, in the year 1865, proposed that we should write together a synopsis of the known species of Kingfishers. Owing, however, to increased calls upon his time, Mr. Williams was forced to abandon the project, and the work was dropped for some time. In 1866 I again resumed the task by myself, and have since steadily persevered with the work until I have been at length enabled to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. I take this opportunity of returning my grateful thanks for their kindness to the many friends who have contributed to the success of the undertaking, and without whose assistance it would have been impossible to finish the book.

...

It would be invidious to say any thing about the way in which my artist, Mr. Keulcmans has performed the task allotted to him. The attention which he has bestowed upon the work merits my highest approbation; and I only regret that in some instances the effect of his beautiful drawings has been marred by the incapacity of the colourists. The department of printing and colouring the plates has been intrusted to Mr. P. W. M. Trap; and though on the whole well executed, I am sorry that I cannot give unqualified praise in some instances."