Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)
Malachite Kingfisher (Alcedo cristata) - HBW 6, p. 234
French: Martin-pêcheur huppé
German: Haubenzwergfischer
Spanish: Martín Pescador Malaquita
Other common names: Diademed Kingfisher(!)
Taxonomy: Alcedo cristata Pallas, 1764, Cape of Good Hope.
Closely related to A. leucogaster and A. vintsioides, and sometimes placed with them in a separate genus Corythornis; forms a superspecies with A. vintsioides; also close to A. nais and A. thomensis, with both of which it has been regarded as conspecific. Racial divisions confused, and further work needed for clarification; recent works have listed three or four races, but with very divergent distributions for some of them; proposed forms robertsi and cyanostigma are synonyms of nominate. Three subspecies currently recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- galerita P. L. S. Müller, 1776 - Senegal E to Ghana.
- cristata Pallas, 1764 - Nigeria E to Sudan, Uganda and Kenya, and S to S Angola, N Namibia and Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
- stuartkeithi (Dickerman, 1989) - Sudan (Blue Nile), Ethiopia and S Somalia; possibly resident also in E Yemen (2 records).
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A bird standing on a trunk and then flying away Locality Rubondo, Uganda (ssp galerita)
Josep del Hoyo 11 September 2006 4 years ago 31 sec 4.6 -
A juvenile in a bush Locality Lake Ziway, Oromia Region, Ethiopia (ssp stuartkeithi)
Josep del Hoyo 30 November 2005 5 years ago 35 sec 4.5 -
It's really malachite Locality The Gambia
kblach 20 January 2009 2 years ago 1 min 3 sec 4.4 -
An adult perched above the water Locality Lake Ziway, Oromia Region, Ethiopia (ssp stuartkeithi)
Josep del Hoyo 30 November 2005 5 years ago 38 sec 4.2 -
An adult ejecting a pellet, capturing a prey and eating it Locality Lake Ziway, Oromia Region, Ethiopia (ssp stuartkeithi)
Josep del Hoyo 30 November 2005 5 years ago 34 sec 4.2 -
An adult perched on a folded leaf Locality Lake Ziway, Oromia Region, Ethiopia (ssp stuartkeithi)
Josep del Hoyo 30 November 2005 5 years ago 44 sec 4.1
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Bird siiting on a branch
Locality Mburo Lake National Park, Uganda (Monotypic species)
Arti 4 March 2011 16 weeks ago 4.7 -
Perched in a tree
Locality Bahir Dar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
John A Thompson 14 January 2012 16 weeks ago 4.6 -
A bird regurgitating a pellet of undigested food
Locality Awassa Lake, SNNPR Region, Ethiopia
Piotr Jonczyk 12 November 2009 2 years ago 4.5 -
An adult perched above the water
Locality Awassa Lake, SNNPR Region, Ethiopia (ssp stuartkeithi )
kblach 12 November 2009 2 years ago 4.4 -
Malachite Kingfisher (Alcedo cristata)
Locality Awassa Lake, SNNPR Region, Ethiopia
Guy Poisson 2 February 2010 1 year ago 4.3 -
Perching along the river and actively fishing
Locality Congo River mouth, Diani Beach, Kenya
Marco Valentini 8 February 2012 13 weeks ago 4.3
- No sound recordings available yet
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