A large kingfisher with a black cap, blue back, and red bill. In Hong Kong it is mainly seen at coastal wetlands during passage and winter.
Adults have a red bill, black cap and back, white throat and belly, orange flanks, and blue wings and tail. First-winter birds show gray scaling on the chest.
Among the 52 species in a South Korean breeding-bird study, the estimated share of survey areas occupied by Black-capped Kingfishers fell 95% from 1997–2005 to 2013–2019.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.