Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher has fallen sharply: down 59% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Belted Kingfisher
A shaggy-crested, blue-and-white bird of rivers, lakes and coasts, the Belted Kingfisher plunges headfirst after fish and nests in earthen burrows.
- Size
- 11–14 in long, about 5.3 oz (28–35 cm, 150 g)
- Habitat
- Marshes, ponds, lakeshores and other freshwater wetlands.
- Diet
- Small fish caught by diving, plus crayfish and other aquatic prey.
- Range
- Recorded on 2,887 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 49 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Alcedinidae · Wetland birds
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Notable Belted Kingfisher Trends
Belted Kingfisher has fallen sharply in surveyed states: down 59% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
Belted Kingfisher Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Belted Kingfisher is projected to fall about 31% by 2029 — from 0.18 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.12 (95% range 0.05–0.20). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±14%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.14 | 0.07 | 0.22 |
| 2026 | 0.14 | 0.06 | 0.22 |
| 2027 | 0.14 | 0.06 | 0.21 |
| 2028 | 0.13 | 0.05 | 0.21 |
| 2029 | 0.12 | 0.05 | 0.20 |
Where the Belted Kingfisher Is Detected
BBS routes recording Belted Kingfisher, sized by most recent count.
Belted Kingfisher Population Trend by State
| Alabama | -76% | 1968 | 101 |
| Alaska | -71% | 1973 | 86 |
| Arizona | insufficient data | n/a | 6 |
| Arkansas | -38% | 1969 | 44 |
| California | -13% | 1970 | 124 |
| Colorado | -76% | 1972 | 71 |
| Connecticut | -53% | 1969 | 19 |
| Delaware | +4% | 1968 | 11 |
| Florida | -86% | 1968 | 37 |
| Georgia | -69% | 1968 | 86 |
| Idaho | -81% | 1971 | 50 |
| Illinois | -18% | 1968 | 95 |
| Indiana | -54% | 1968 | 63 |
| Iowa | -25% | 1969 | 38 |
| Kansas | -65% | 1969 | 48 |
| Kentucky | +12% | 1968 | 59 |
| Louisiana | -28% | 1969 | 59 |
| Maine | -50% | 1968 | 71 |
| Maryland | -58% | 1968 | 68 |
| Massachusetts | -31% | 1969 | 32 |
| Michigan | -10% | 1968 | 98 |
| Minnesota | -51% | 1969 | 85 |
| Mississippi | +3% | 1968 | 50 |
| Missouri | -67% | 1969 | 75 |
| Montana | -21% | 1970 | 65 |
| Nebraska | -42% | 1969 | 36 |
| Nevada | -30% | 1995 | 9 |
| New Hampshire | -11% | 1968 | 26 |
| New Jersey | -52% | 1969 | 29 |
| New Mexico | -86% | 1975 | 17 |
| New York | -53% | 1968 | 121 |
| North Carolina | -49% | 1968 | 88 |
| North Dakota | -53% | 1971 | 31 |
| Ohio | +17% | 1968 | 81 |
| Oklahoma | -53% | 1969 | 62 |
| Oregon | -56% | 1970 | 89 |
| Pennsylvania | -52% | 1968 | 128 |
| Rhode Island | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| South Carolina | -54% | 1968 | 38 |
| South Dakota | -44% | 1969 | 36 |
| Tennessee | -49% | 1968 | 51 |
| Texas | -77% | 1969 | 91 |
| Utah | -89% | 1976 | 18 |
| Vermont | -49% | 1968 | 26 |
| Virginia | -63% | 1968 | 76 |
| Washington | -14% | 1970 | 85 |
| West Virginia | -10% | 1968 | 62 |
| Wisconsin | -42% | 1968 | 97 |
| Wyoming | -31% | 1974 | 47 |
Belted Kingfisher Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| BCR 2 | -74% | 1985 | 9 |
| BCR 4 | -66% | 1982 | 45 |
| Northern Pacific Rainforest | -9% | 1970 | 138 |
| Great Basin | -24% | 1970 | 109 |
| Northern Rockies | -51% | 1970 | 140 |
| Prairie Potholes | -14% | 1969 | 75 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | -17% | 1968 | 119 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | -33% | 1968 | 81 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | -55% | 1968 | 149 |
| Sierra Nevada | -56% | 1974 | 22 |
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | -35% | 1971 | 81 |
| Badlands and Prairies | -42% | 1969 | 59 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | -95% | 1970 | 34 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | -35% | 1969 | 76 |
| Edwards Plateau | -82% | 1972 | 13 |
| Oaks and Prairies | -83% | 1969 | 57 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | -16% | 1968 | 243 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | -41% | 1968 | 154 |
| Central Hardwoods | -65% | 1968 | 145 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | -59% | 1969 | 78 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | +35% | 1969 | 48 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | -70% | 1968 | 257 |
| Appalachian Mountains | -46% | 1968 | 369 |
| Piedmont | -59% | 1968 | 152 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | -57% | 1968 | 129 |
| Peninsular Florida | -87% | 1970 | 16 |
| Coastal California | -26% | 1970 | 63 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | -80% | 1975 | 12 |
Belted Kingfisher Conservation Status
Least Concern
The IUCN Red List rates this species as Least Concern. Our route-weighted index shows it down about 59% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.