Giant kingfisher
| Giant kingfisher | |
|---|---|
| Male, Lake Naivasha, Kenya | |
| Female near Triangle, Zimbabwe | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Alcedinidae |
| Subfamily: | Cerylinae |
| Genus: | Megaceryle |
| Species: | M. maxima |
| Binomial name | |
| Megaceryle maxima (Pallas, 1769) | |
| distribution | |
The giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) is the largest kingfisher in Africa, where it is a resident breeding bird over most of the continent south of the Sahara Desert, other than the arid southwest.