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Striped Kingfisher

Halcyon chelicuti

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesShrublandCavity nestSmall · 43 g
Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti), photo 1
Photo: Henggang Cui · CC0
Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti), photo 2
Photo: i_c_riddell · CC BY 4.0
Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti), photo 3
Photo: scaup · CC BY 4.0
Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti), photo 4
Photo: Sri Srikumar · CC0
Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti), photo 5
Photo: Sri Srikumar · CC0
Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti), photo 6
Photo: Bruno - Yolande Zanette · CC BY 4.0
Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti), photo 7
Photo: Henggang Cui · CC0
Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti), photo 8
Photo: scaup · CC BY 4.0
Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti), photo 9
Photo: i_c_riddell · CC BY 4.0
Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti), photo 10
Photo: Mahomed Desai · CC BY 4.0

What the Striped Kingfisher sounds like

Sonogram of the Striped Kingfisher: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by paulo kivuyo · Duet · Kingori, Meru, Arusha Region, Tanzania · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The striped kingfisher of the nominate subspecies H. c. chelicuti averages 16 to 18 cm (about 6.5 in) from beak to tail. Perched adults look mostly greyish brown on the upper part of the body. The lower back, secondary flight feathers, and tail are metallic blue; this colour is much more visible when the bird flies than when it is perched, as is a white patch at the base of the primary flight feathers. The wing linings are white with a black border, and in males a black bar at the base of the primaries.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Striped 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 Striped Kingfisher

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 34 countries with regular records, and 2 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.

South Africa Uganda Kenya Tanzania Mozambique Botswana Zimbabwe Zambia Gambia Ethiopia Eswatini Namibia Malawi Senegal Ghana Angola Nigeria Rwanda Cameroon Congo - Kinshasa Benin Guinea-Bissau Gabon Burkina Faso Côte d’Ivoire Central African Republic Congo - Brazzaville Guinea Mauritania Sierra Leone Togo Chad South Sudan Niger

Recorded as a rare visitor in Mali, Somalia.

About the Striped Kingfisher

The striped kingfisher is a species of bird in the tree kingfisher subfamily. It was first described by Edward, Lord Stanley, in Salt's Voyage to Abyssinia in 1814 as "Chelicut kingfisher" Alaudo Chelicuti.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Grey-headed Kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala) Grey-headed KingfisherHalcyon leucocephalaThe sexes are similar. Black-capped Kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) Black-capped KingfisherHalcyon pileataThis kingfisher is about 28 centimetres (11 in) long. Blue-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon malimbica) Blue-breasted KingfisherHalcyon malimbicaThe blue-breasted kingfisher is a tree kingfisher widely distributed across Equatorial Africa.

Side by side: Striped Kingfisher vs White-throated Kingfisher · Brown-hooded Kingfisher vs Striped Kingfisher · Striped Kingfisher vs Woodland Kingfisher · Grey-headed Kingfisher vs Striped Kingfisher · Black-capped Kingfisher vs Striped Kingfisher

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