Pied Kingfisher ( Ceryle rudis, family: Cerylidae)

pied kingfisher kruger national park birds The Pied Kingfisher (Latin name Ceryle rudis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 428 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 184 also a picture of the Pied Kingfisher on page 193. The Pied Kingfisher belongs to the family of birds classified as Cerylidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Pied Kingfisher is also known by these other names: Lesser Pied Kingfisher.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Pied Kingfisher is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Pied Kingfisher in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Pied Kingfisher : see above distribution map.

The Pied Kingfisher.

Pied Kingfisher Kruger ParkIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The Pied Kingfisher is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the Pied Kingfisher is about 25 cms and its weight is about 85 gms

You will find that the male Pied Kingfisher plumage and colours are different to that of the female Pied Kingfisher

  • Head is black.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is black.
  • Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Pied Kingfisher feeds in or around water mainly

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Pied Kingfisher is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Ceryle rudis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Pied Kingfisher is to create the nest on water or a hole in the ground. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1 to 7

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Pied Kingfisher are: wetlands

You will normally see the Pied Kingfisher in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Isaxwila

Zulu ... iHlabahlabane/isiQuba/isiXula

Afrikaans ...Bontvisvanger

German ... Graufischer

Portuguese ... Pica-peixe-malhado

French ... Martin-pcheur pie

Dutch ... Bonte Ijsvogel

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 428

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za