Giant Kingfisher ( Megaceryle maximus, family: Cerylidae)

giant kingfisher kruger national park birds The Giant Kingfisher (Latin name Megaceryle maximus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 429 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 183 also a picture of the Giant Kingfisher on page 193. The Giant Kingfisher belongs to the family of birds classified as Cerylidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Giant Kingfisher is also known by these other names: African Giant Kingfisher.

The Robert's 7 Latin name for Gorgeous Bush-Shrike has changed from Telophorus quadricolor in Robert's 6 to Telophorus viridis

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

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

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

The Giant Kingfisher is a bird about the size of a Francolin now called Spurfowl. The height of the Giant Kingfisher is about 42 cms and its weight is about 350 gms

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

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

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Giant Kingfisher feeds in or around water mainly

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Giant Kingfisher is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Megaceryle maximus will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Giant Kingfisher is to create the nest in a hole in the ground. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 3 to 5

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Giant Kingfisher are: wetlands

You will normally see the Giant Kingfisher by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Uxomoyi

Zulu ... isiVuba

Afrikaans ...Reusevisvanger

German ... Riesenfischer, Rieseneisvogel

Portuguese ... Pica-peixe-gigante

French ... Martin-pcheur gant

Dutch ... Afrikaanse Reuzenijsvogel

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 ... 429

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