Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)
About the Pied Kingfisher
The pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is a species of water kingfisher widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, it has five recognised subspecies, and is the only member of the genus Ceryle. Its black-and white-plumage and crest, as well as its habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish, make it distinctive. Males have a double band across the breast, while females have a single broken breast band. They are usually found in pairs or small family groups. When perched, they often bob their heads and flick up their tails.
A real field recording of the Pied Kingfisher. Press play and focus on the rhythm and pitch of each phrase.
Listen
Our streaming copies are mirrored from the original xeno-canto file and transcoded to 96 kbps mono — a modification, so we note it here; the licence for each recording is named in its credit below.
1 recording on this page · licensed CC BY-SA ×1 · mirrored on this server, free for commercial reuse · recorded in Botswana, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Gabon, India and elsewhere · xeno-canto lists 192 recordings for this species in total.
Other birds in this region
- Common GreenshankTringa nebulariarecording
- Black-crowned Night HeronNycticorax nycticoraxrecording
- Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopusrecording
- African GoshawkAccipiter tachirorecording
- African Pied WagtailMotacilla aguimprecording
- African Wood OwlStrix woodfordiirecording
These are the birds recorded alongside it, not close relatives — the site holds no other member of its genus or family yet.