The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is the brightest flash of colour on Franconia's slow rivers. Along the Pegnitz, from the meadows east of Nuremberg down through the city's old riverside walls, a patient walker can often hear the thin, piercing whistle long before the bird itself shoots past low over the water.
Small and compact, with an electric blue back, orange underparts and a dagger-like bill. Females show an orange base to the lower mandible; males have an all-dark bill. In flight the bird is usually just a blue streak a few centimetres above the surface.
September is a good month: young birds disperse along the river to claim their own territories, and short chases between rivals are common in the early morning. Hard winters hit kingfishers badly, so every sighting after a cold spell is worth writing down.