Their plumage is slate gray with a white neckband and white belly. The female has a rusty colored band across the belly making this one of just a few species in which the female is more colorful than the male. They select the vertical face of a bank and build a nest at the end of a burrow which the bird excavates with its large bill. The nest chamber is lined with leaves and grasses to hold 5-8 white eggs. Nests may be a considerable distance from water, and the adults fly cross-country to lakes, streams, ponds, ditches, or wetlands to capture food for the nestlings.
Kingfishers spot small fish from their perch on a branch or by hovering over the water.
When food is in sight, they pull their wings back and dive head first to catch their prey with their beak. When they are back on their perch, they whack the fish on the branch several times to kill it. They may carry the fish to their young or swallow it immediately, head first. In addition to fish they will also catch insects, crayfish, reptiles, and amphibians. Kingfishers are present in our area year-round unless the winters are unusually harsh.