The colourful Kingfisher - a rare but memorable sight

The kingfisher is one of Britain's most delightful and colourful native birds. When seen unexpectedly, it is usually as a sudden and stunning dart of jewelled blue diving into a river. The RSPB has estimated that there are between 4,800 and 8,000 breeding pairs thinly, but widely, spread across the UK. Their scarcity mean kingfishers are protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.