Banded Kingfisher

Banded Kingfisher

Lacedo pulchella

Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Kuala Lumpur

In 3 days <5%

8 Verified sightings at Kuala Lumpur
2,293 In all 12 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Banded Kingfisher

The banded kingfisher (Lacedo pulchella) is a tree kingfisher found in lowland tropical forests of southeast Asia. It is the only member of the genus Lacedo. Male and female adults are very different in plumage. The male has a bright blue crown with black and blue banding on the back. The female has rufous and black banding on the head and upperparts.

The first formal description of the species was by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield in 1821 under the binomial name Dacelo pulchella. The current genus Lacedo was introduced by the German ornithologist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1851. The word Lacedo is an anagram of Alcedo, the Latin word for kingfisher. The specific name pulchella is Latin for "very pretty".

There are three subspecies: L. p. pulchella, the nominate race, breeds in Malaysia south of 7°N and on the islands of Sumatra and Java. It is slightly larger than the nominate form. The male has a blue nape, and the female is more rufous than pulchella.

The male has a black forehead, cheeks and nape. The banded kingfisher is 20 cm (7.9 in) long... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:13

Vietnam · 2026

© Tim Dinh / Annambirding · XC1156125 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:17

Malaysia · 2025

© Ding Li Yong · XC1023206 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Duet0:43

Malaysia · 2025

© David Boyle · XC1009695 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
2 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
3 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~20%
4 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
5 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
6 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
7 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
8 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
9 Kerinci Seblat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
10 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
11 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
12 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Banded Kingfisher in Kuala Lumpur?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Kingfisher sighting in Kuala Lumpur on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 204th most-seen of the 228 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Banded Kingfisher in Kuala Lumpur?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Kingfisher in Kuala Lumpur on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Banded Kingfisher?

Between 3 and 6 am

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

Where else can you see a Banded Kingfisher?

Only Kuala Lumpur, in our data

Kuala Lumpur is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Banded Kingfisher sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Where does the Banded Kingfisher sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Banded Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Kuala Lumpur (8 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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