Corythornis cristatus
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The malachite kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus) is a river kingfisher which is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. It is largely resident except for seasonal climate-related movements. The malachite kingfisher was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Alcedo cristata. The specific epithet cristata is from the Latin cristatus meaning "crested" or "plumed". The adjective "malachite" in the vernacular name normally refers to the dark green colour of the copper containing mineral. This kingfisher has blue upperparts but has black banding with pale blue or greenish-blue on its forehead.
A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2007 confirmed that the most closely related species is the Malagasy kingfisher, (Corythornis vintsioides). The Malagasy kingfisher has a black bill and greenish crest, and is not quite as dependent on water as the African species. It is otherwise similar in plumage and behaviour to the more widespread malachite kingfisher. The São Tomé kingfisher and the Príncipe kingfisher were sometimes considered as distinct species but a study published in 2008 showed that they are both subspecies... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Yaoundé | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | |
| 4 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 5 | Bujumbura | 🇧🇮 Burundi | |
| 6 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 9 | Zanzibar City | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Malachite Kingfisher sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 594 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 50th most-seen of the 351 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.
March and May–June
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Malachite Kingfisher in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against about 20% in January–February, April and August, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Malachite 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.
9th of 48
Of the 48 parks where we can rate Malachite Kingfisher sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park ranks 9th at about 30%. The best odds are in Liwonde National Park (Malawi, about 50%), Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal, about 40%) and Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Alcedinidae
The closest relatives of the Malachite Kingfisher that you can see in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (family Alcedinidae, Kingfishers) are Brown-hooded Kingfisher (about 40%), Pied Kingfisher (about 30%) and Striped Kingfisher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Malachite Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (594 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
