Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)

Other Names (World)
Pied Kingfisher, Lesser Pied Kingfisher, Small Pied Kingfisher, Indian Pied Kingfisher (travancoreensis, leucomelanura)

Family
Alcedinidae (Kingfishers)

Size
25 - 31 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Wetlands, including agricultural fields, rivers, estuaries and mangroves.

Range (Guide)

Afghanistan (B), Angola, Bangladesh (B), Benin, Bhutan (B), Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia (B), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China (mainland) (B), Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], C�te dIvoire, Cyprus (B), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Hong Kong (China) (B), India (B), Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B), Iraq (B) (NB), Israel (B), Jordan (B) (NB), Kenya, Kuwait, Laos (B), Lebanon (B), Lesotho, Liberia, Macao (China), Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar (B), Namibia, Nepal (B), Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan (B), Palestinian Authority Territories, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic (B), Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand (B), Togo, Turkey (B) (NB), Uganda, Vietnam (B), Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Vagrant to France, Greece, Oman, Poland, Qatar, S�o Tom� e Principe, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates.

Africa to Asia.

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 (2020).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Sociable. Inpairs or noisy groups. Commonly hovers above water while foraging.

Voice
Various loudly whistled chattering notes, including 'tik twikik', 'cheek' and 'chit-it-it', uttered in flight or from a perch. A low-pitched 'trrr' uttered in alarm.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (177)...)

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) [XC615871]
by Cedric Mroczko from Yumurtal\u0131k Lag\u00fcnleri Milli Park\u0131 (Halep \u00e7am\u0131 orman\u0131), Adana, Turkey (flight call)

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle) [XC892270]
by Marc de Bont from Farm, Fengxian, Shang Hai Shi, China (call)

Subspecies
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:

rudis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Central and southern Turkey and Israel to Syria, Iraq and south-western Iran, also northern Egypt and Nile Valley, and sub-Saharan Africa (except arid regions).
leucomelanura Reichenbach, 1851 - North-eastern Afghanistan, western Pakistan and India (except south-west) south to Sri Lanka, and east to Thailand and Indochina.
travancoreensis Whistler, 1935 - South-western India, from northern Kerala south to Cape Comorin.
insignis Hartert, 1910 - South-eastern China, including Hainan.
syriacus Roselaar, 1995 - Turkey to Israel east to south-western Iran.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) - 10 files

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BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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