Giant kingfisher
| Giant kingfisher | |
|---|---|
_male.jpg)
| |
| Male, Lake Naivasha, Kenya | |
| |
| Female near Triangle, Zimbabwe | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Alcedinidae |
| Subfamily: | Cerylinae |
| Genus: | Megaceryle |
| Species: | M. maxima
|
| Binomial name | |
| Megaceryle maxima (Pallas, 1769)
| |
| |
| distribution | |
The giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) is the largest kingfisher in Africa, where it is a resident breeding bird over most of the continent south of the Sahara Desert, other than the arid southwest.
Taxonomy[edit]
The first formal description of the giant kingfisher was by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1769 under the binomial name Alcedo maxima.[2] The current genus Megaceryle was erected by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848.[3]
There are two subspecies:[4]
- M. m. maxima (Pallas, 1769) – Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia and south to South Africa
- M. m. gigantea (Swainson, 1837) – Liberia to northern Angola and western Tanzania, island of Bioko
The nominate subspecies M. m. maxima occurs in wooded savanna while M. m. gigantea prefers tropical rainforest.[5]
Description[edit]
The giant kingfisher is 42–46 cm (16.5–18 in) long, with a large shaggy crest, a large black bill and fine white spots on black upperparts. The male has a chestnut breast band and otherwise white underparts with dark flank barring. The female has a white-spotted black breast band and a chestnut belly.[5] The forest race M. m. gigantea is darker, less spotted above, and more barred below than the nominate race, but the two forms intergrade along the forest edge zone.[5]
The call is a loud wak wak wak.
Behaviour[edit]
Breeding[edit]
In South Africa breeding takes place between September and January, in Zimbabwe from August to March, in Zambia March to April and in Liberia December to January.[5]
The giant kingfisher is monogamous and a solitary breeder. The nest is a long horizontal tunnel that is excavated into a river bank by both sexes using their feet and bills. The entrance hole is 11 cm (4.3 in) high and 15 cm (5.9 in) wide. The tunnel is typically 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in length but a tunnel of 8.5 m (28 ft) has been recorded. A clutch of around three eggs is laid in a chamber at the end of the tunnel.[5]
Feeding[edit]
This large species feeds on crabs, fish, and frogs, caught by diving from a perch.
_female_composite.jpg)
References[edit]
- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Megaceryle maxima". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22683616A92991520. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683616A92991520.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ Pallas, Peter Simon (1769). Spicilegia zoologica quibus novae imprimis et obscurae animalium species iconibus: descristionibus atque commentariis illustrantur (in Latin). Berolini [Berlin]: Prostant apud Gottl. August. fascicle 6, p. 14.
- ^ Kaup, Johann Jakob (1848). "Die Familie der Eisvögel (Alcedidae)". Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins für das Großherzogthum Hessen und Umgebung (in German). 2: 68. OCLC 183221382.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 7.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Fry, C. Hilary; Fry, Kathie; Harris, Alan (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, and Rollers. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 231–232. ISBN 978-0-7136-8028-7.
External links[edit]
