Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris)

Other Names (World)
Crested Kingfisher, Great Pied Kingfisher, Greater Pied Kingfisher, Large Pied Kingfisher

Family
Alcedinidae (Kingfishers)

Size
41 - 43 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Temminck, 1834)

Habitat
Cold, fast flowing rivers and streams in forested mountains. Moves downstream but rarely to the coast in winter.

Range (Guide)

Afghanistan (B) (NB), Bangladesh (B), Bhutan (B), China (mainland) (B), India (B), Japan (B), Laos (B), Myanmar (B), Nepal (B), North Korea, Pakistan (B), Thailand (B), Vietnam (B).

Vagrant to Russia (Asian), South Korea (E) (B).

Himalayan foorthills to eastern China, Japan and Kurile Islands.

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).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Loud, grating, chattering 'kyura kyura' or 'kyara kyara', by both sexes. A powerful 'chek chek' or 'ket ket' and a wader-like 'wick' or 'pik pik-wik' uttered in flight.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (13)...)

Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris) [XC256162]
by Oriental Stork from Mandal, Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India (flight call)

Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris) [XC787873]
by Common Jeff\uff08\u9ebb\u6770\u592b\uff09 from Hebei, Pingshan\/\u6cb3\u5317\u5e73\u5c71\u53bf, China (call, flight call)

Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima), Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata) and Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). Proposed subspecies continentalis, described from Sikkim, is poorly differentiated, and better merged with guttulata.

The following 4 subspecies are recognised:

guttulata (Stejneger, 1892) - North-eastern Afghanistan east through Kashmir, Nepal and north-eastern India to Indochina, central, southern and north-eastern China, south to southern Myanmar, north-western Thailand and central Vietnam.
pallida (Momiyama, 1927) - Northern Japan (Hokkaido), and possibly also southern Kuril Is.
lugubris (Temminck, 1834) - Central and southern Japan (Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu).
continentalis (Hartert, 1900) - Western Himalayas (Kashmir to central Bhutan).

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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