Ceryle rudis
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is a species of water kingfisher widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, it has five recognised subspecies, and is the only member of the genus Ceryle. Its black-and white-plumage and crest, as well as its habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish, make it distinctive. Males have a double band across the breast, while females have a single broken breast band. They are usually found in pairs or small family groups. When perched, they often bob their heads and flick up their tails.
The pied kingfisher was one of the many bird species originally described by Linnaeus in the landmark 1758 10th edition of his Systema Naturae, who noted that it lived in Persia and Egypt. He named it Alcedo rudis. The German naturalist Friedrich Boie erected the genus Ceryle in 1828. The name is from classical Greek kērulos, an unidentified and probably mythical bird mentioned by Aristotle and other authors. The specific epithet rudis is Latin for "wild" or "rude".
The pied kingfisher is the only member of the genus Ceryle. Molecular analysis shows it is an early offshoot... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luxor | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 2 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Cairo | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 4 | Zanzibar City | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 7 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 8 | Srinagar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 10 | Brazzaville | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pied Kingfisher sighting in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, based on 893 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 54th most-seen of the 204 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pied Kingfisher in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pied Kingfisher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
38th of 96
Of the 96 cities where we can rate Pied Kingfisher sightings, Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] ranks 38th at about 10%. The best odds are in Luxor (Egypt, about 70%), Kampala (Uganda, about 60%) and Cairo (Egypt, about 60%).
Same family: Alcedinidae
The closest relatives of the Pied Kingfisher that you can see in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (family Alcedinidae, Kingfishers) are White-throated Kingfisher (about 70%), Common Kingfisher (about 10%) and Stork-billed Kingfisher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pied Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (893 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
