Alcedo quadribrachys
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The shining-blue kingfisher (Alcedo quadribrachys) is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is found in tropical Africa. The shining-blue kingfisher was described of by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850 and given its current binomial name Alcedo quadribrachys. The name Alcedo is the Latin word for a "kingfisher". The specific epithet quadribrachys is from the Latin quadri- for "four" and brachium meaning "arms" or in this case "toes".
The shining-blue kingfisher is one of eight species in the genus Alcedo and is most closely related to the half-collared kingfisher (Alcedo semitorquata). There are two subspecies: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 3 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 5 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Shining-blue Kingfisher sighting in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 160th most-seen of the 215 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, August and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Shining-blue Kingfisher in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–April, September and December, the lowest months. May–July and October have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Shining-blue Kingfisher sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Shining-blue Kingfisher sightings, Niokolo-Koba National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Semuliki National Park (Uganda, about 30%), Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo, about 20%) and Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 10%).
Same family: Alcedinidae
The closest relatives of the Shining-blue Kingfisher that you can see in Niokolo-Koba National Park (family Alcedinidae, Kingfishers) are Pied Kingfisher (about 70%), Blue-breasted Kingfisher (about 60%) and Giant Kingfisher (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Shining-blue Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Niokolo-Koba National Park (26 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.
