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The feeding behaviour of New Zealand Kingfishers (Halcyon sancta vagans) overwintering at Brooklands Lagoon, a coastal North Canterbury estuary, is described. Kingfishers watched for crabs from perches on or near the mudflats and caught crabs on 96% of dives. Kingfishers then battered them against a perch; parts of the crabs such as the chelae were knocked off in the process. Fallen chelae (n = 225) provided information about species, size and sex of crabs taken. Crabs were collected in mud samples from 10 sites to compare the size, sex and species of crabs present on the mudflats with those taken by Kingfishers. Kingfishers fed only on the mud crab Helice crassa, which was the most abundant crab species on the mudflats. Male crabs and large crabs were taken more often proportionally than they were in the mud samples.