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WetlandCavity nestLarge · 325 g
ID tip
The giant kingfisher is 42–46 cm (16.5–18 in) long, with a large shaggy crest, a large black bill and fine white spots on black upperparts. The male has a chestnut breast band and otherwise white underparts with dark flank barring. The female has a white-spotted black breast band and a chestnut belly. The forest race M. m. gigantea is darker, less spotted above, and more barred below than the nominate race, but the two forms intergrade along the forest edge zone. The call is a loud wak wak wak.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Giant Kingfisher
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Giant Kingfisher
The map shades 38 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
About the Giant Kingfisher
The giant kingfisher is the largest kingfisher in Africa, where it is a resident breeding bird over most of the continent south of the Sahara Desert, other than the arid southwest.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Crested KingfisherMegaceryle lugubrisThe crested kingfisher is a very large, stocky black and white bird, usually between 38 and 43 cm (15 and 17 in) tall, and weighs between 230 and 280 g (8 and 10 oz).
Ringed KingfisherMegaceryle torquataMegaceryle torquata is a Neotropical kingfisher that lives in habitats ranging between the US and Mexico.
Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyonThe belted kingfisher is a stocky, medium-sized bird that measures between 28–35 cm (11–14 in) in length with a wingspan of between 48–58 cm (19–23 in).
Side by side: Belted Kingfisher vs Giant Kingfisher · Giant Kingfisher vs Ringed Kingfisher · Crested Kingfisher vs Giant Kingfisher
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