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Woodland Kingfisher

Halcyon senegalensis

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesWoodlandCavity nestMedium · 73 g
Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), photo 1
Photo: Xavi Talleda · CC BY 2.0
Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), photo 2
Photo: Miiro David · CC0
Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), photo 3
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), photo 4
Photo: Derek Keats · CC BY 2.0
Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), photo 5
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), photo 6
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), photo 7
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), photo 8
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), photo 9
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), photo 10
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0

What the Woodland Kingfisher sounds like

Sonogram of the Woodland Kingfisher: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Anne Ndung'u · Song · Kisumu, Kisumu County, Kenya · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

This is a medium-sized kingfisher, 23 cm (9.1 in) in length. The adult has a bright blue back, wing panel and tail. Its head, neck and underparts are white, and its shoulders are black. The flight of the woodland kingfisher is rapid and direct. The large bill has a red upper mandible and black lower mandible. The legs and feet are dark grey. Some birds may have greyish heads, causing confusion with mangrove kingfisher.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Woodland Kingfisher

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 7 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is December, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Woodland Kingfisher

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 37 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 Ghana Botswana Tanzania Kenya Nigeria Namibia Ethiopia Zambia Rwanda Zimbabwe Gambia Cameroon Gabon Eswatini Côte d’Ivoire Mozambique Congo - Brazzaville Congo - Kinshasa Benin Senegal Malawi Angola Liberia Equatorial Guinea Togo Sierra Leone Guinea-Bissau Guinea Burundi Central African Republic Chad Burkina Faso Niger South Sudan Mali

Recorded as a rare visitor in Sudan, Mauritania.

About the Woodland Kingfisher

The woodland kingfisher is a tree kingfisher that is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara.

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

Easily confused with

Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti) Striped KingfisherHalcyon chelicutiThe striped kingfisher of the nominate subspecies H. c. chelicuti averages 16 to 18 cm (about 6.5 in) from beak to tail. 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.

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

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