Mangrove Kingfisher

The mangrove kingfisher (Halcyon senegaloides) is a kingfisher in the genus Halcyon. It is similar in appearance to the woodland kingfisher. It is found along the eastern coastline of Sub-Saharan Africa, living in woodland, along rivers, and in estuaries and mangrove. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern. The mangrove kingfisher is about 22 cm long. The male and female are alike. The head is dark grey-brown, with black lores and a narrow white line above the eye, and the cheeks and sides of the neck are brown-grey. The grey breast and flanks are vermiculated (having dense, irregular lines). There is a black patch under the wing. The rest of the plumage is similar to the woodland kingfisher, having black and blue covert and flight feathers. The beak of the mangrove kingfisher is red, the eyes are dark brown, and the legs are dark grey-brown. The juvenile bird is duller, has coarser vermiculations and a yellowish-buff wash on the breast, and has a brown beak. Birds in the south tend to have slightly longer wings and narrower beaks.