Grey-headed Kingfisher

Halcyon leucocephala

Other Names

  Chestnut-bellied Kingfisher, Greyhooded Kingfisher   Martin-chasseur à tête grise   Graukopfliest   Alción Cabeciblanco   Gråhuvad kungsfiskare   Grijskopijsvogel   Martin pescatore testagrigia

World: Cape Verde Islands; from Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia East to Ethiopia, Somalia and southern Arabia and south to South Africa.

Kenya: Absent from the arid areas of northern and north-eastern Kenya and above220m, elsewhere common.

A dry-country kingfisher of bush and woodland, often found near rivers or streams. Looks similar to the Woodland Kingfisher but with a red not red and black bill and to the brown-hooded kingfisher, but the brown hooded lacks the chestnut belly. It nests in holes in mud banks and can be very aggressive in defence of the nest. We saw a pair drive off a four-foot Monitor Lizard by repeatedly dive bombing it, making audible contact with the lizard's head. It is parasitised by the Greater Honeyguide. Easy to spot in the dryer parks such as Amboseli (near one of the swamps) or Samburu (along the banks of the Uaso Nyiro), usually perched in a tree or bush watching out for insects or small reptiles.