Malachite Kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus)
About the Malachite Kingfisher
The malachite kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus) is a river kingfisher which is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. It is largely resident except for seasonal climate-related movements. The malachite kingfisher was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Alcedo cristata. The specific epithet cristata is from the Latin cristatus meaning "crested" or "plumed". The adjective "malachite" in the vernacular name normally refers to the dark green colour of the copper containing mineral. This kingfisher has blue upperparts but has black banding with pale blue or greenish-blue on its forehead.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 26 recordings for this species: 1 CC BY-NC-ND. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Other birds you can hear here
- African Wood OwlStrix woodfordiirecording
- Green Wood HoopoePhoeniculus purpureusrecording
- Grey-backed CamaropteraCamaroptera brevicaudatarecording
- Hadada IbisBostrychia hagedashrecording
- African CuckooCuculus gularisrecording
- African Pied WagtailMotacilla aguimprecording
These are the birds recorded alongside it, not close relatives — the site holds no other member of its genus or family yet.