kingfisher

American  

[king-fish-er] / ˈkɪŋˌfɪʃ ər /

noun

1. any of numerous fish- or insect-eating birds of the family Alcedinidae that have a large head and a long, stout bill and are usually crested and brilliantly colored.

---

kingfisher British  

/ ˈkɪŋˌfɪʃə /

noun

1. any coraciiform bird of the family Alcedinidae, esp the Eurasian Alcedo atthis, which has a greenish-blue and orange plumage. Kingfishers have a large head, short tail, and long sharp bill and tend to live near open water and feed on fish

---

Etymology

Origin of kingfisher

1400–50; king + fisher; replacing king's fisher, late Middle English kinges fisher

Explanation

A kingfisher is a colorful bird that catches fish by diving dramatically into the water. The Australian kookaburra is the largest species of kingfisher. Among about 90 different kingfisher species, most have brilliant blue feathers and a very long, pointed bill. These bright birds are mainly found in tropical climates near rivers and other bodies of water, making fish and crustaceans the major part of their diet. Etymologists know the bird's original name was king's fisher (with the fisher part being self-explanatory), but the rest of the word's history is unknown.

Example Sentences

"To get all the kingfisher DNA, we used specimens in the Field Museum's collections," says Eliason, who works in the Field's Grainger Bioinformatics Center and Negaunee Integrative Research Center.

From Science Daily • Oct. 24, 2023

The kingfisher abounds in Egyptian art; on the wall of the Green Room it appears amid the stems and umbels of a dense papyrus thicket at the moment it takes its helldive.

From New York Times • Jun. 6, 2023

Thirteen driftwood sculptures — different kinds of owls, woodpeckers, northern flicker, a kingfisher and a crow — are playing hide-and-seek along the trail.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 27, 2022

By creating dams and holding water, the beavers are encouraging previously unseen species into the area such as kingfisher, stoats and waterfowl.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2022

From the cage, Samir retrieved three orange and blue kingfisher feathers.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri