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;[[:Category:Megaceryle|Megaceryle]] maxima | ;[[:Category:Megaceryle|Megaceryle]] maxima | ||
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==Identification== | ==Identification== | ||
42 - 48 cm and up to 375 g (female) this is an impressively large Kingfisher.<br /> | 42 - 48 cm and up to 375 g (female) this is an impressively large Kingfisher.<br /> |
Revision as of 07:56, 12 March 2013
- Megaceryle maxima
Identification
42 - 48 cm and up to 375 g (female) this is an impressively large Kingfisher.
It has a large crest and finely spotted white on black upperparts. The male has a chestnut breast band and otherwise white underparts with dark flank barring, while the female has a white-spotted black breast band and chestnut belly.
Distribution
Widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa:
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Swaziland
African Islands: Gulf of Guinea Islands: Bioko (Fernando Po)
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
- M. m. maximus:
- Senegambia to Ethiopia and South Africa
- M. m. giganteus:
Habitat
Almost any water body with sufficient food and overhanging branches, from which to hunt, including streams, rivers, estuaries, seashores and sewage ponds. Common along water furrows in villages in the South Karoo and at irrigation schemes.
Behaviour
It is shy and unobtrusive and therefore can be difficult to see.
Diet
The diet consists of crabs, fish, and frogs. They dive from a perch, often immersing completely. The prey is then taken to the perch and vigorously beaten against solid subject until dead.
Breeding
Monogamous, solitary nester. Breeding is from August to January in a hole excavated into sandbanks. Three to five oval, white and glossy eggs are laid into these riverbank tunnels.
Vocalisation
The call is a loud wak wak wak.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
- Absolute Astronomy
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Giant Kingfisher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Giant_Kingfisher