Halcyon gularis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The brown-breasted kingfisher (Halcyon gularis) is a tree kingfisher endemic to the Philippines, where it is widely distributed. This kingfisher is a resident over much of its range. It was previously considered a subspecies of the white-throated kingfisher (H. smyrnensis), but was split as a distinct species by the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International in 2014, and the International Ornithological Congress followed suit in 2022.
It is differentiated by its plummage white a smaller extent of white which is restricted to the chin versus the white-throated kingfishers which white spot includes the breast, a larger white wingpatch, more black on the wings and a shorter tail.
This species is monotypic. Feeds on insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, small birds and mammals and even the occasional bat. Typically perches 5 to 10 meters above its hunting area and swoops down to its prey. Season is around April to May where it typically nests in termite mounds and lays 2 to 4 eggs.
Has a wide range of habitats that include clearings, fishponds, rivers, second growth scrubland, and forest edge... Wikipedia →
Recording0:19
Philippines · 2026
© bureaubenjamin · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Philippines · 2018
© pauleng · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Philippines · 2025
© astronorm · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manila | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-breasted Kingfisher sighting in Manila on a given day, based on 186 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 74th most-seen of the 191 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March, June and November–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-breasted Kingfisher in Manila on a given day, against under 5% in January, April–May and July–October, the lowest months.
Only Manila, in our data
Manila is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Brown-breasted Kingfisher sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Alcedinidae
The closest relatives of the Brown-breasted Kingfisher that you can see in Manila (family Alcedinidae, Kingfishers) are Collared Kingfisher (about 70%) and Common Kingfisher (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown-breasted Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Manila (186 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.
