Family Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)
Least Concern
Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima)
Taxonomy
French: Martin-pêcheur géant German: Riesenfischer Spanish: Martín gigante africano
Taxonomy:
Alcedo maxima
Pallas
, 1769,Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
.
Subspecies and Distribution
M. m. maxima
(Pallas, 1769) – open areas from Senegambia E to W Ethiopia and S Kenya, and S to S Angola, N Botswana, and South Africa (mainly in E half, S to Cape Town and SW, and also Orange R).
M. m. gigantea
(Swainson, 1837) – forest from Liberia to S Nigeria, then E to W Tanzania and S to N Angola; also Bioko.
Descriptive notes
42–46 cm; male 275–426 g, female 255–398 g. Adult male of nominate race has black forehead, crown and hindneck with small white spots on crown, black lores... read more
Voice
Loud, raucous, cackling “kek” when disturbed, may be repeated as “kek-kek-kek-kek... read more
Habitat
Large perennial rivers, and dams and lakes with plenty of marginal woody growth, in forest and... read more
Food and feeding
Mainly fish (Cichlidae, Serranidae) in Zaire and Zimbabwe, and river crabs (including Potamon) in Liberia and South Africa; also... read more
Breeding
Lays in Nov–Feb in Senegambia, in Mar in Mali, in Dec–Jan in Liberia, in Dec in Cameroon, in Jan–Mar in Zaire, in Aug in... read more
Movements
Generally resident, with some local movements which may involve dispersing juveniles, or adults... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Widespread, and common in some localities. A pair in South Africa had a home range of 4·3 km on a river. May suffer from pesticides draining... read more
Forms a group with M. lugubris, M. torquata and M. alcyon. Validity of darker form gigantea has been questioned, since light and dark forms have been found together in Liberia and in both Upper and Lower Guinea forests; further investigation required. Two subspecies tentatively recognized.