NL·0250Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Halcyon smyrnensis
- Family
- Alcedinidae
- Native to
- Turkey, the Levant and Iraq through Iran, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to southern China, Southeast Asia and the Philippines
- Habitat
- Farmland, Wetland, Open woodland, Urban
On eBird ↗
White-throated Kingfisher
Live sightings near you, the range map, bar charts of when it is seen, and Macaulay Library photos and recordings.
White-throated kingfisher
Halcyon smyrnensis
Also calledKilkila (Hindi/Urdu) · Māchrāṅgā (Bengali) · Bái xiōng fěicuì 白胸翡翠 (Chinese) · White-breasted kingfisher
A big-billed kingfisher with a chocolate head, a brilliant turquoise back and a shining white bib, often seen far from water on wires above fields. It eats lizards, crabs, insects and even small snakes as readily as fish.
The white-throated kingfisher also known as the white-breasted kingfisher is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Asia from the Sinai east through the Indian subcontinent to China and Indonesia. This kingfisher is a resident over much of its range, although some populations may make short distance movements. It can often be found well away from water where it feeds on a wide range of prey that includes small reptiles, amphibians, crabs, small rodents and even birds. During the breeding season they call loudly in the mornings from prominent perches including the tops of buildings in urban areas or on wires. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iHunts on dry land as well as in water, taking lizards, frogs, mice and large insects
- iiDigs a nest tunnel in earth banks with its bill
- iiiBeats large prey against a perch before swallowing
In the field
Field marks
- aLarge kingfisher with a massive red bill
- bChocolate-brown head and belly, sharply defined white throat and breast
- cBrilliant turquoise-blue back, wings and tail
- dLarge white wing patches visible in flight
- Voice
- A loud, shrill, whinnying 'kililili' trill, given from perches and in flight
- Not to be confused with
- Stork-billed kingfisher is larger with an ochre head and body; Black-capped kingfisher has a black cap and white collar; Common kingfisher is tiny with orange underparts.
- Where to see it
- Canals and fields across Punjab and Sindh, Keoladeo, Sri Lankan paddies; Lahore and Delhi gardens
- When
- Resident year-round
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Life & habits
- Diet
- Large insects, lizards, frogs, crabs, fish, small snakes, rodents and occasionally small birds
- Habitat
- Open country, canals, rice fields, gardens, mangroves and forest edge
- Size
- About 27–28 cm long
Perches conspicuously on wires and posts, dropping to the ground for prey; displays from treetops with wings spread to show the white patches.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Turkey, the Levant and Iraq through Iran, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to southern China, Southeast Asia and the Philippines
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
No plate in the Source Library names this exact species, so these show its closest relatives as the old naturalists drew them: same genus, or the same kind of animal. Click a plate to read the page it came from, with translation.
Jan Jonston — Naeukeurige beschryving van de natuur der viervoetige dieren (1660)
Relative · Jan Jonston · 1660 · p.135
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. 1
Relative · Mark Catesby · 1777 · p.224
The Malay Archipelago: The Land of the Orang-Utan and the Bird of Paradise
Relative · Alfred Russel Wallace · 1869 · p.330
Of the Eggs and Nests of Birds
Relative · Giuseppe Zinanni (Ginanni) (1692-1753) · 1737 · p.165
History of Animals, Book I: On Viviparous Quadrupeds
Relative · Conrad Gessner · 1554 · p.736
Noah's Ark
Relative · Athanasius Kircher · 1675 · p.139
Historiae Animalium Liber III: De Avium Natura
Relative · Conrad Gesner · 1555 · p.636
Historiae Animalium Liber III: De Avium Natura
Relative · Conrad Gesner · 1555 · p.591
Sancai Tuhui (Vol. 90)
Relative · 王圻, 王思義 · 1609 · p.38
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Halcyon smyrnensis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
It is the state bird of West Bengal. The species name smyrnensis refers to Smyrna (modern Izmir) in Turkey, from where the first specimen described came.
Curiosity
Despite being a kingfisher, it often lives far from any water, hunting lizards and insects in dry fields.
Kinship
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›subphylumVertebrata
- ›classAves
- ›orderCoraciiformes
- ›familyAlcedinidae
- ›subfamilyHalcyoninae
- ›genusHalcyon
Neighbours on the shelf
Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 204519.