- Lifespan
- 4–8 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 16–17 cm; wingspan 24–26 cm; 9–12 g
- Habitat
- Clear, unpolluted rivers, streams, and occasionally lakes and coastal areas with overhanging vegetation and suitable nesting banks.
- UK Distribution
- Resident throughout England, Wales, and southern Scotland; population increases in winter with continental migrants. Absent from far northern Scotland.
- Diet
- Primarily small fish such as minnows, sticklebacks, and young trout; also aquatic insects and tadpoles, hunted by diving from a perch.
- Prey
- Small fish (0.5–8 cm), aquatic insect nymphs, crustaceans, and tadpoles
- Predators
- Sparrowhawks, herons, pike, and occasionally brown rats; eggs and chicks vulnerable to stoats and mink
- Mating Season
- February to August
- Breeding
- Clutch of 6–8 white eggs; incubation period 19–21 days; fledging at 23–27 days; typically 1–2 broods per year
- Behaviour
- Solitary and highly territorial, defending stretches of water year-round. Males and females perform elaborate courtship displays involving fish-catching demonstrations. Characteristically perches motionless on branches or rocks before diving at high speed to capture prey.