Blue-eared Kingfisher

Blue-eared Kingfisher

Alcedo meninting

Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Jakarta

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

227 Verified sightings at Jakarta
3,485 In all 16 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Blue-eared Kingfisher

The blue-eared kingfisher (Alcedo meninting) is found in Asia, ranging across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is found mainly in dense shaded forests where it hunts in small streams. It is darker crowned, with darker rufous underparts and lacking the rufous ear stripe of the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) which is found in more open habitats. A number of subspecies have been described that differ in measurement and colour shade. Adult males have an all dark bill while females have a reddish lower mandible.

The blue-eared kingfisher was described by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield in 1821 and given its current binomial name Alcedo meninting. The name Alcedo is the Latin word for a "kingfisher". The specific epithet meninting is the Javanese word for the species. The blue-eared kingfisher is one of seven species in the genus Alcedo and is most closely related to Blyth's kingfisher (Alcedo hercules).

Several plumage variations in the population that occur across its wide distribution range have been recognized as subspecies: Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:26

Malaysia · 2025

© Ding Li Yong · XC991916 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Duet0:27

Singapore · 2023

© Joshua Chong · XC842505 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:45

Indonesia · 2020

© Prayitno Goenarto · XC604619 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~70%
2 Tanjung Puting National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~60%
3 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
4 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
5 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
6 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
7 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
<5%
8 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
9 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
10 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
11 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
12 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
13 Tangkoko Nature Reserve 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
14 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
15 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
16 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
2 Yogyakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
3 Makassar 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
4 Denpasar 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
5 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
6 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
<5%
7 Phnom Penh 🇰🇭 Cambodia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Blue-eared Kingfisher in Jakarta?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-eared Kingfisher sighting in Jakarta on a given day, based on 227 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 34th most-seen of the 138 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Blue-eared Kingfisher in Jakarta?

February–May and October

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-eared Kingfisher in Jakarta on a given day, against about 10% in August, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Blue-eared Kingfisher?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-eared Kingfisher sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Jakarta the best place to see a Blue-eared Kingfisher?

Yes

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Blue-eared Kingfisher sightings, Jakarta has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Yogyakarta (Indonesia, about 20%) and Makassar (Indonesia, about 10%).

Where does the Blue-eared Kingfisher sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Blue-eared Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Jakarta (227 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.

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