Stork-billed kingfisher

Stork-billed kingfisher
From Baranagar, India. The shape of its bill resembles that of a stork.
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Subfamily: Halcyoninae
Genus: Pelargopsis
Species:
P. capensis
Binomial name
Pelargopsis capensis
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms
  • Alcedo capensis Linnaeus, 1766
  • Halcyon capensis (Linnaeus, 1766)

The stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis), is a tree kingfisher which is widely but sparsely distributed in the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India to Indonesia. These kingfishers are large and have a heavy bill. The head is brown and the chin is paler coloured. The sexes are similar in coloration. This is found mostly in streams and ponds in lowland areas with tree cover. This kingfisher is sendentary throughout its range.