A blue-eared kingfisher weighing 18 g and a length of 17 cm is very similar to an ordinary kingfisher , only the blue plumage of the upper body and the orange lower body has a more intense color. In addition, ear coverts in adult birds are blue instead of orange.
There are six subspecies:
- Alcedo m. meninting lives in Sumatra , Java , Bali , Lombok , Bangai , Sula and possibly Sulawesi , Nias and Sulu .
- Alcedo m. verreauxii lives on Malacca south of 10 ° latitude, Borneo , Palawan , Bangka , Sulu, Pagi , Belitunga and Riau.
- Alcedo m. scintillans live in Burma and Thailand between 10 ° and 16 ° latitude.
- Alcedo m. phillipsi is found in Sri Lanka and in part of the Indian state of Kerala .
- Alcedo m. rufigaster lives in the Andaman .
- Alcedo m. coltarti is distributed from Indochina to Nepal and eastern India.
Birds live by rivers and ponds in dense evergreen forests.
This is a timid bird, leading a solitary lifestyle. It hunts prey from an ambush located near water. It feeds on fish, crustaceans and insects that it catches in flight.
Nest builds on vertical sandy slopes. A tunnel 55-60 cm long and 5 cm in diameter ends with a nesting chamber 12-14 cm wide and 10-12 cm high.
