翠鸟是指佛法僧目下的一类体型中小、羽毛颜色艳丽的鸟类。它们具有世界分布的特点，绝大多数的种类分布在旧大陆和澳大利亚。“翠鸟”既可指单一的翠鸟科（Alcedinidae），又可指包含有翠鸟科（Alcedinidae）、翡翠科（Halcyonidae）和鱼狗科（Cerylidae）三科的翠鸟亚目（Alcedines）。翠鸟大约有90种，其共同的特点是：头部较大、喙部长而锐利且末段尖锐、两腿短小、尾羽短粗。绝大多数种类均有较为艳丽的羽毛，但两性之间略有差异。绝大多数种类分布在热带地区，极少数种类只能在森林里发现。它们的猎物种类繁多，通常会从栖木上猛扑以捕捉鱼类。

Kingfishers are a group of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found outside of the Americas. The group is treated either as a single family, the Alcedinidae, or as a suborder Alcedines containing three families, Alcedinidae (river kingfishers), Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers), and Cerylidae (water kingfishers). Roughly 90 species of kingfishers are described. All have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright plumage with few differences between the sexes. Most species are tropical in distribution, and a slight majority are found only in forests. They consume a wide range of prey, as well as fish, usually caught by swooping down from a perch. While kingfishers are usually thought to live near rivers and eat fish, most species live away from water and eat small invertebrates. Like other members of their order, they nest in cavities, usually tunnels dug into the natural or artificial banks in the ground. A quarter of all kingfishers nest in disused termite nests. A few species, principally insular forms, are threatened with extinction. In Britain, the word "kingfisher" normally refers to the common kingfisher.