Bird

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Lives in North Carolina all year and nests here. Found in all 100 counties, across 28 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 100 counties
Habitats: 28

Male Belted Kingfisher, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Brooke J., some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0. iNaturalist photo 747510784. Source-provided large resize; no crop or image edits.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 100 counties
Habitats: 28
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in North Carolina 28

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 28

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; South-Central Interior Large FloodplainNamed place / source context. Shown: Congaree Swamp National Monument floodplain forest, South Carolina; representative illustration, no exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.fallen (uprooted) tree, John Dawson, by1988. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland SystemsRegional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianFrederic Edwin Church, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina (1865-70): a boulder-strewn mountain river under autumn-coloured ridges. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. North Carolina mountains (Frederic Edwin Church, oil sketch 1865-70; Cooper Hewitt)*Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70*, Frederic Edwin Church, 1865-1870. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested WetlandNamed place / source context. Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretationView, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

SummerWinter

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland; Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems

SummerOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Southern Piedmont Cliff; Southern Appalachian Montane CliffWilliam Frerichs, North Carolina Mountain Landscape: rocky bluffs and ledges above a river in the Carolina mountains. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. North Carolina mountains (William C. A. Frerichs)*North Carolina Mountain Landscape*, William Charles Anthony Frerichs, c. 1855-1870. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine ModifierNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Southern and Central Appalachian Cove ForestRegional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointCove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Regional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointSpruce-fir forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Disturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterOnly within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.Deciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Other habitats in its models (124)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in North Carolina. Those recorded in North Carolina first, the rest by region.

In North Carolina 1

Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.

Elsewhere in the South (65)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Summer and winter.
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer and winter.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
South Florida Mangrove Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Southern Interior Acid Cliff Summer, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.

Northeast (14)

Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.

Midwest (7)

Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.

Land cover and other classes (37)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Summer and winter, only within 60 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

Forests can border streams with steep banks used for nesting; this is why the model includes upland forest classes.
The GAP model connects this bird with water-associated settings.
The GAP model includes floodplain forests and applies water-related conditions. Its separate steep-bank nesting note explains upland forest classes.

All habitats

Seasons in North Carolina

Year-round: nests here, in all 100 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in North Carolina, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Belted Kingfisher uses many habitats in North Carolina; these are its 3 most characteristic.