I love to see kingfishers when I am on my travels and have so far seen a few, from the colourful Pygmy Kingfisher to this, the Giant Kingfisher, Megaceryle maxima. I just find them fascinating to watch as they perch, or hover in the case of the Pied Kingfisher, to search out their prey before dramatically plunging into the water. And they do often come away with some remarkably large fish which they tend to batter into submission on the branches of trees.
The Giant Kingfisher is a resident breeding bird in most of sub-Saharan Africa and is the largest kingfisher found on the continent, growing up to 46cm (18 inches) in length.
The male has a chestnut breast band and white underparts, while the female has a white-spotted black breast band and a chestnut belly. Their main diet consists of crabs, fish, and frogs.
Home is a tunnel dug into the side of the riverbank and is usually around 2 metres in length.
Kwa mfano, unaweza kuona kingfisher kwenye safari yako ya safari, na unaweza kuona kingfisher ya pygmy, kingfisher ya megaceryle, kingfisher ya megaceryle. Kwa hivyo, ni muhimu sana kuwaangalia wakiketi, au kuelea, katika kesi ya Kingfisher ya Pied, kutafuta mawindo yao kabla ya kuzama ndani ya maji. Mara nyingi wao huja na samaki wakubwa sana ambao huwa wanashambulia kwenye matawi ya miti. Kingfisher ni ndege wa kawaida wa Afrika Kusini mwa Jangwa la Sahara na ni ndege mkubwa zaidi wa kibinadamu duniani, na inaweza kufikia urefu wa sentimita 46 na inchi 18. Ndege wa kiume ana kiuno cha rangi ya chestnut na sehemu za chini nyeupe, huku ndege wa kike akiwa na kiuno cha rangi ya nyeusi yenye madoa meupe na tumbo la rangi ya chestnut. Chakula chao kikuu ni kaa, samaki, na vyura. Nyumba ni handaki lililochimbwa kando ya ukingo wa mto na kwa kawaida lina urefu wa mita mbili.