- Halcyon badia
Identification
21 cm (8¼ in); a medium-sized kingfisher.
- Chestnut head, mantle and wing coverts
- Azure lower back, tail and wing panel
- Chestnut tip of tail
White underparts
Distribution
Tropical Africa: Sierra Leone to western Uganda, DRC and northern Angola; Bioko.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Halcyon badia has two subspecies:[1]
- H. b. obscuridorsalis
- west Africa (Sierra Leone to Ghana)
- H. b. badia
Habitat
Primary and secondary forests, as well as gallery forest up to 1500 m.
Behaviour
Common, but heard more often than seen.
Diet
Their main diet consists of insects particularly grasshoppers and beetles. As well as crickets, cicadas and mantids.
Vocalisation
A high-pitched note, followed by 10-15 decending whistles (lasting 5-6 seconds); pee, tee tee tee..
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2018)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Chocolate-backed Kingfisher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chocolate-backed_Kingfisher