Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima)

Other Names (World)
Giant Kingfisher, African Giant Kingfisher, Alucan Giant Kingfisher

Family
Alcedinidae (Kingfishers)

Size
43 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Pallas, 1769)

Range (Guide)

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], C�te dIvoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (28)...)

Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) [XC881211]
by Marc Anderson from Kafue National Park, Zambia (call)

Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) [XC413951]
by Frank Lambert from Wulki Farm, Careysburg, Montserrado, Liberia (call)

Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris), Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata) and Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). Validity of subspecies gigantea has been questioned, since light and dark forms have been found together in Liberia and both the Upper and Lower Guinea forests.

The following 2 subspecies are recognised:

maxima (Pallas, 1769) - Open areas from Senegambia east to western Ethiopia and south to southern Angola, northern Botswana, and South Africa, mainly in eastern half, south to Cape Town and south-west, and also Orange R.
gigantea (Swainson, 1837) - Forest from Liberia to northern Nigeria, then east to western Tanzania and south to northern Angola.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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