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A photo of a Grey-headed Kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala)
Grey-headed Kingfisher

Grey-headed Kingfisher

Halcyon leucocephala

The grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala) is a species of kingfisher that has a wide distribution from the Cape Verde Islands off the north-west coast of Africa to Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, east to Ethiopia, Somalia and southern Arabia and south to South Africa. The sexes are similar. The adult of the nominate race H. l. leucocephala has a pale grey head, black mantle and back, bright blue rump, wings and tail, and chestnut underparts. Subspecies H. l. pallidiventris has a darker grey head and paler chestnut underparts but is otherwise similar. The beak is long, red and sharp. This bird grows to an average length of 21 cm. The song is a succession of notes, ascending, descending and then ascending again, becoming increasingly strident. The warning call is a series of sharp notes, "tchk, tchk, tchk, tchk".
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Grey-headed Kingfishers on Birda

Photos

Sightings

A photo of a Grey-headed Kingfisher photographed in Kwa nokeng lodge South Africa
🦉
Adele Engelbrecht
Monday 25 Sep 2023 - 2:10pm
South Africa
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Victoria Simpson
Victoria Simpson
Wednesday 20 Sep 2023 - 5:01am
Kenya
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Victoria Simpson
Victoria Simpson
Tuesday 19 Sep 2023 - 12:05pm
Kenya
A photo of a Grey-headed Kingfisher photographed in  South Africa
🐦
Sophia Hastie
Thursday 14 Sep 2023 - 6:25am
South Africa
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