Woodland Kingfisher

Woodland Kingfisher

Halcyon senegalensis

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

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

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

17 Verified sightings at Lomé
9,461 In all 35 parks From 2019 to 2026
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Woodland Kingfisher

The woodland kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis) is a tree kingfisher that is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus included the woodland kingfisher with the binomial name Alcedo senegalensis in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae which was published in 1766. Linnaeus based his formal description on "Le Grand Martin-Pescher du Sénégal" that the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson had described and illustrated in 1760. The current genus Halcyon was introduced by the English naturalist and artist William Swainson in 1821, with the woodland kingfisher as the type species.

Three subspecies are recognised: This is a medium-sized kingfisher, 23 cm (9.1 in) in length. The adult has a bright blue back, wing panel and tail. Its head, neck and underparts are white, and its shoulders are black. The flight of the woodland kingfisher... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:20

Senegal · 2025

© Azens · XC1093294 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:52

South Africa · 2026

© JJSUN · XC1080056 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:37

Uganda · 2025

© Bernard BOUSQUET · XC1053538 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~70%
2 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~60%
3 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~40%
4 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
5 Odzala-Kokoua National Park 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
~30%
6 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
7 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
8 Taï National Park 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast
~30%
9 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
~30%
10 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~20%
11 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
~20%
12 South Luangwa National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~20%
13 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
14 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
15 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~20%
16 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
17 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
18 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~10%
19 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
~10%
20 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
21 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~10%
22 Lower Zambezi National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~10%
23 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
24 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~10%
25 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
26 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~10%
27 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
28 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
~10%
29 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
30 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
31 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
<5%
32 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
33 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
34 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
35 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Brazzaville 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
~80%
2 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
~70%
3 Accra 🇬🇭 Ghana
~70%
4 Yaoundé 🇨🇲 Cameroon
~60%
5 Abidjan 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire
~50%
6 Monrovia 🇱🇷 Liberia
~40%
7 Bujumbura 🇧🇮 Burundi
~30%
8 Lagos 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~30%
9 Maiduguri 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~30%
10 Serrekunda 🇬🇲 Gambia
~20%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Valencia Bioparc 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Woodland Kingfisher in Lomé?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Woodland Kingfisher sighting in Lomé on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 14th most-seen of the 43 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Woodland Kingfisher in Lomé?

May and September–November

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Woodland Kingfisher in Lomé on a given day, against about 10% in January, March, June and August, the lowest months. February, April, July and December have too few records to rate.

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

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Woodland 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.

Is Lomé the best place to see a Woodland Kingfisher?

11th of 17

Of the 17 cities where we can rate Woodland Kingfisher sightings, Lomé ranks 11th at about 20%. The best odds are in Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo, about 80%), Kampala (Uganda, about 70%) and Accra (Ghana, about 70%).

Where does the Woodland Kingfisher sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Woodland Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Lomé (17 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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