Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uganda.
Sierra Leone east to Ghana, and from southern Nigeria, Bioko I (Fernando Póo) and southern Cameroon east to extreme south-western Central African Republic and south to Gabon and, marginally, northern Angola (Cabinda, R Cuango), also Zaire (except northern and south-east) and extreme western Uganda (forests of Maragambo, Bwamba, Bugoma and Budongo).
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Chocolate-backed Kingfisher (Halcyon badia) [XC401358]
by Bram Vogels from Kakum NP (Abrufo Forest), Ghana (song)
Chocolate-backed Kingfisher (Halcyon badia) [XC404543]
by Barry Edmonston from Ankasa NR, Ghana (song)
Subspecies
Shows some affinities to White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) and Javan Kingfisher (Halcyon cyanoventris). Birds of Bioko I described as subspecies lopezi and those from western Uganda as budongoensis, but neither considered sufficiently distinct to merit recognition.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
badia Verreaux & Verreaux, 1851 - Sierra Leone to Ghana; southern Nigeria to western South Sudan, Uganda and central DR Congo.
lopezi Alexander, 1903 - Bioko I. (Gulf of Guinea).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet