.:Tichodroma:.

Tichodroma 32 (2020): Online First

Short communication

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/tichodroma.2020.32.1

Extreme breeding effort of Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Extrémne hniezdne úsilie rybárika riečneho (Alcedo atthis)

Lucia RUBÁČOVÁ & Mária MELIŠKOVÁ

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences Comenius University, Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, Mlynská
Dolina, 842 15 Bratislava 4, Slovak Republic; e-mail: lucia.turcokova@uniba.sk

Abstract: The Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis has a fairly long breeding season in Central Europe. Birds start
to breed at the end of March and finish early in September. In this time they can successfully breed two, three or
four times per season. The study of kingfisher breeding biology in Danube river system (southwestern Slovakia)
brought interesting discovery. In 2018, we documented the extremely long breeding period of an individual
breeding pair of Kingfisher at the locality of Fodráska, where the first egg was laid on March 30, while the last
young were expected to leave the nest on September 30, 2018. The pair attempted to breed five times, of which
three attempts were successful with totally 19 raised chicks. The length of breeding season was estimated on
around 185 days. This is one of the longest documented breeding seasons in this species and the latest date of
breeding observed in the Central Europe.

Key words: kingfisher, breeding biology, brood number, length of breeding season

Citation
Rubáčová L. & Melišková M.: Extreme breeding effort of Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). Tichodroma 32: Online First. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/tichodroma.2020.32.1

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