Brown-hooded Kingfisher vs White-throated Kingfisher

Brown-hooded Kingfisher

Halcyon albiventris

Medium65 gShrubland

The brown-hooded kingfisher is about 22 cm (8.7 in) long. The head is brown, with blackish streaks. There is a broad buffy collar above the brownish-black mantle. The wing coverts are mostly brownish-black, and the secondary flight feathers are turquoise. The rump is azure-blue. The chin is white, the breast is tawny with some dark streaks, and the belly is buffy. The beak is red, tipped brown, the legs are carmine, and the eyes are dark brown. The female has dark brown upperparts, and its underparts are more streaked than the male.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dkeats/ · CC BY 2.0

White-throated Kingfisher

Halcyon smyrnensis

Medium91 gUrban

This is a large kingfisher, 27–28 cm (10.6–11.0 in) in length. The adult has a bright blue back, wings and tail. Its head, shoulders, flanks and lower belly are chestnut, and the throat and breast are white. The large bill and legs are bright red. The flight of the white-throated kingfisher is rapid and direct, the short rounded wings whirring. In flight, large white patches are visible on the blue and black wings. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are a duller version of the adult. This species forms a superspecies with Halcyon cyanoventris and most major works recognize four geographic races.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Sathyan Meppayur · Call, breeding call · Meppayur, Kozhikode, Kerala, India · CC0

Photo: Dani Alba · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Brown-hooded Kingfisher and White-throated Kingfisher.