Halcyon smyrnensis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) 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.
The white-throated kingfisher is one of the many birds that were first formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He coined the binomial name Alcedo smyrnensis. Linnaeus cited Eleazar Albin's Natural History of Birds published in 1738 that included a description and a plate of the "Smirna Kingfisher". Albin's specimen was preserved in alcohol and had been collected by the botanist William Sherard who served as the British Consul at Smyrna between 1703 and 1716. The present... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yangon | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | |
| 2 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Tamluk | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Savar | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 5 | Ponnani | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Tiruchirappalli | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Visakhapatnam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Madurai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Jabalpur | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | El Paso Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 5 | Ocean Park Hong Kong | 🇨🇳 China |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a White-throated Kingfisher sighting in Gwalior on a given day, based on 42 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 23rd most-seen of the 86 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and December
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a White-throated Kingfisher in Gwalior on a given day, against about 20% in January–February, April–June and September, the lowest months. Those are among Gwalior's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 210 mm in August.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-throated 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.
80th of 103
Of the 103 cities where we can rate White-throated Kingfisher sightings, Gwalior ranks 80th at about 30%. The best odds are in Yangon (Myanmar, about 80%), Thiruvananthapuram (India, about 80%) and Tamluk (India, about 80%).
Same order: Coraciiformes
The closest relatives of the White-throated Kingfisher that you can see in Gwalior (order Coraciiformes, Rollers, Kingfishers, and Allies) are Asian Green Bee-eater (about 20%) and Indian Roller (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-throated Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Gwalior (42 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.
