Named for Edward Blyth, the species has also been known as Alcedo grandis and as the great blue kingfisher.

It builds nests at the end of tunnels dug in the banks of streams or ravines.

A shy bird, it frequents small waterways, feeding on fish and insects caught by diving from a shrub close to the water.

The species ranges from Nepal through India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.

Even within its preferred habitat the density of the species is low, and the population, though not thoroughly surveyed, is believed to be small, and declining further.

[2][3] Unfortunately, this name was preoccupied as it had already been introduced for another species by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his Systema naturae of 1788.

[9][10][11] The species is morphologically similar to the blue-eared kingfisher (Alcedo meninting), but in comparison is substantially larger.

[12] The dark ear coverts set it apart from the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), which has rufous ear-coverts.

[9] It is similar to the female blue-banded kingfisher (Alcedo euryzona), but the two species do not overlap in their range.

[13] The breeding period of Blyth's kingfisher is chiefly between April and May, extending to March and June.

The nests are built at the end of a tunnel in a muddy bank, next to either a stream or a ravine in the forest.

[10] Blyth's kingfisher frequents small rivers and waterways in evergreen forest, hilly regions, or deep ravines.

In Vietnam the species is found in Annam and western Tonkin, in which regions it is fairly common.

It is also found in Myanmar, where its density varies considerably, and is either a visitor or a rare resident in northwestern Thailand.

Other potential threats to the species include water pollution in the rivers it inhabits and anthropogenic disturbance such as deforestation.