Corythornis cristatus
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% 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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Malachite Kingfisher sighting in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, based on 404 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 44th most-seen of the 424 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February, April, June–July and October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Malachite Kingfisher in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, against about 10% in May, the lowest month.
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.
5th of 48
Of the 48 parks where we can rate Malachite Kingfisher sightings, Murchison Falls National Park ranks 5th at about 40%. 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 Murchison Falls National Park (family Alcedinidae, Kingfishers) are Gray-headed Kingfisher (about 60%), Pied Kingfisher (about 50%) and Giant Kingfisher (about 30%), 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 Murchison Falls National Park (404 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.
