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biodiversity explorer

the web of life in southern Africa

Family: Dacelonidae (dacelonid kingfishers)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) > Tetrapoda (four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota > Reptilia (reptiles) > Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria > Dinosauria (dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves (birds) > Order: Coraciiformes

Species indigenous to southern Africa

Halcyon albiventris (Brown-hooded kingfisher) 

The Brown-hooded kingfisher is common in the eastern half of southern Africa, mainly living in woodland habitats, as well as heavily wooded gardens and parks. It has a broad and varied diet, eating a wide variety of animals, rarely eating fish. Both sexes excavate the nest, which is a burrow, normally dug into the walls of gullies. It lays 2-5, rarely 6 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female, for about 14 days. Very little is known about the young. It seems that they are fed mainly fed by the female, and they are fed by their parents after fledging.

Halcyon chelicuti (Striped kingfisher) 

The Striped kingfisher is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, occupying a wide variety of open woodland and grassland habitats. Its diet mainly consists of insects, especially grasshoppers, occasionally eating small vertebrates. It usually nests in tree cavities, either natural or made by woodpeckers or barbets. Here it lays 1-6 eggs, which are incubated by both sexes. The chicks are cared for by both parents and sometimes a nest helper, who is usually a non-breeding male, becoming fully independent soon after fledging.

Halcyon leucocephala (Grey-headed kingfisher, Grey-hooded kingfisher) 

The Grey-headed kingfisher is common across sub-Saharan Africa, mainly occurring in well developed woodland, often near rivers or streams. Its diet mainly consists of insects, especially grasshoppers, occasionally eating small vertebrates. It is an intra-African breeding migrant, arriving here around April and leaving in the period from December-May. Both sexes excavate the nest, which is a burrow consisting of a tunnel leading to a nest chamber, dug into riverbanks, gullies, etc. It lays 3-4 eggs, which are incubated by both sexes, for about 20 days. The eggs hatch into small, naked chicks with black bills and brownish legs, who are cared for by both parents.

Halcyon senegalensis (Woodland kingfisher) 

The Woodland kingfisher is common across sub-Saharan Africa, occupying a wide variety of woodland and savanna habitats. It is quite an adaptable hunter, feeding mainly insects but also small vertebrates, such as fish, snakes and even other birds! It is an intra-African migrant, arriving in southern Africa around September-December, breeding then leaving for Central Africa around March-April. It usually nests in tree cavities, either natural or excavated by barbets or woodpeckers, laying 2-4 eggs incubated by both sexes. The chicks grow rapidly, cared for by both parents, leaving the nest at about 18-24 days old. They remain dependent on their parents for about 5 more weeks after fledging, after which they usually disperse.

Halcyon senegaloides (Mangrove kingfisher)