Striped Kingfisher ( Halcyon chelicuti, family: Dacelonidae)

striped kingfisher kruger national park birds The Striped Kingfisher (Latin name Halcyon chelicuti) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 437 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 182 also a picture of the Striped Kingfisher on page 193. The Striped Kingfisher belongs to the family of birds classified as Dacelonidae.

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

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

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Striped Kingfisher is an extremely small bird about half the size of a house sparrow. The height of the Striped Kingfisher is about 19 cms and its weight is about 40 gms

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

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

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Striped Kingfisher feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Striped Kingfisher is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Halcyon chelicuti will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Striped Kingfisher is to create the nest in a hole in the ground. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 6

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Striped Kingfisher are: woodlands and grasslands

You can expect to see Striped Kingfisher in flocks, or pairs or as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Gestreepte Visvanger

German ... Streifenliest, Gestreifter Baumliest

Portuguese ... Pica-peixe-riscado

French ... Martin-chasseur stri

Dutch ... Gestreepte 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 ... 437

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