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The grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala) is a species of kingfisher that has a wide distribution from the Cape Verde Islands off the north-west coast of Africa to Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, east to Ethiopia, Somalia and southern Arabia and south to South Africa.
Halcyon kingfishers are mostly large birds with heavy bills. They occur in a variety of habitats, with woodland of various types the preferred environment for most. They are “sit and wait” predators of small ground animals including large insects, rodents, snakes, and frogs, but some will also take fish.
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The widespread pied kingfisher is quite gregarious and is often found in small noisy groups. Order: Coraciiformes Family: Alcedinidae. Shining blue kingfisher, Alcedo quadribrachys; Malachite kingfisher, Corythornis cristatus; African pygmy kingfisher, Ispidina picta; Gray-headed kingfisher, Halcyon leucocephala; Woodland kingfisher, Halcyon ...
The largest kingfisher in Africa is the giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima), which is 42 to 46 cm (17 to 18 in) in length and 255–426 g (9.0–15.0 oz) in weight. [17] The common Australian kingfisher, known as the laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), is the heaviest species, with females reaching nearly 500 g (18 oz) in weight. [18]
The common kingfisher was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Gracula atthis. [2] [3] [4] The modern binomial name derives from the Latin alcedo, 'kingfisher' (from Greek ἀλκυών, halcyon), and Atthis, a beautiful young woman of Lesbos, and favourite of Sappho.
Brown-winged kingfisher, Sundarbans, West Bengal, India. The tree kingfishers, also called wood kingfishers or Halcyoninae, are the most numerous of the three subfamilies of birds in the kingfisher family, with around 70 species divided into 12 genera, including several species of kookaburras.
This kingfisher catches fish and also eats crabs, prawns, lizards and insects. The song is a raucous, accelerating series of tchi notes, and the breeding display includes spreading the wings. [4] Breeding has been recorded from October to January. [4] [5] Nests have been recorded in tree holes and termite nests. [6]