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WetlandCavity nestMedium · 84 g
What the Pied Kingfisher sounds like
ID tip
This is a medium-sized kingfisher, about 25 cm (9.8 in) long with a white with a black mask, a white supercilium and black breast bands. The crest is neat and the upperparts are barred in black. Several subspecies are recognized within the broad distribution. The nominate race is found in sub-Saharan Africa, extending into West Asia. The subspecies syriacus is a larger northern bird similar to the nominate subspecies (following Bergmann's rule). Subspecies leucomelanura is found from Afghanistan east into India, Thailand and Southeast Asia.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Pied Kingfisher
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Pied Kingfisher
The map shades 73 countries with regular records, and 4 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Eritrea, Greece, Singapore, Italy.
About the Pied Kingfisher
The pied kingfisher is a species of water kingfisher widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, it has five recognised subspecies, and is the only member of the genus Ceryle. Its black and white plumage and crest, as well as its habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish, make it distinctive. Males have a double band across the breast, while females have a single broken breast band. They are usually found in pairs or small family groups. When perched, they often bob their head and flick up their tail.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Ringed KingfisherMegaceryle torquataMegaceryle torquata is a Neotropical kingfisher that lives in habitats ranging between the US and Mexico.
Sacred KingfisherTodiramphus sanctusThe sacred kingfisher is mostly blue-green to turquoise above with white underparts and collar feathers, a black mask and buff lores.
Green KingfisherChloroceryle americanaThe green kingfisher is about 20 cm (8 in) long and weighs about 35 to 40 g (1.2 to 1.4 oz); females are larger and heavier than males.
Side by side: Pied Kingfisher vs Ringed Kingfisher · Pied Kingfisher vs Sacred Kingfisher · Green Kingfisher vs Pied Kingfisher
Watch the Pied Kingfisher on live cams
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