In a way, kingfishers may be the poor man`s pittas – almost as colorful and exciting, but much easier to observe. Here are some that I have seen in the past few years.

African Pygmy Kingfisher (Mkuze, South Africa, Nov 2018)

Belted Kingfisher (Reno, USA, Jan 2015)

Black-capped Kingfisher (Nanhui, China, May 2018)

Brown-hooded Kingfisher (Bateleur and Mkuze, Nov 2018)

Collared Kingfisher (Brisbane, Australia, Jan 2017)

Common Kingfisher (Mumbai, India, Feb 2019 and Nanhui, China,  Apr 2020)

Crested Kingfisher (HongAn, China, Jun 2015)


Malachite Kingfisher (Cape Town and Pafuri, South Africa, Nov 2018)

 

Pied Kingfisher (Skukuza, South Africa, Nov 2018 and Nanhui, China, Jul 2020)

Red-backed Kingfisher (Alice Springs, Australia,  Dec 2016)

Ruddy Kingfisher (Singapore, Nov 2015)

Rufous-collared Kingfisher (Taman Negara, Malaysia, Nov 2019)

Sacred Kingfisher (Brisbane, Australia, Dec 2016)

Stork-billed Kingfisher (Singapore, Nov 2015 and Taman Negara, Malaysia, Nov 2019)

White-throated Kingfisher (Delhi and Mumbai, India, Feb and Apr 2019; Nabang, China, Mar 2017; Singapore, Nov 2015)

Written by Kai Pflug
Kai Pflug has been living in Shanghai for 20 years. He only became interested in birds in China – so he is much more familiar with birds in China than with those in Germany. While he will only ever be an average birder, he aims to be a good bird photographer and has created a website with bird photos as proof. He hopes not too many clients of his consulting company read this blog, as they will doubt his dedication to providing consulting services related to China`s chemical industry. Whenever he wants to shock other birders, he tells them his (indoor) cats can distinguish several warblers by taste.