Shining-blue Kingfisher

Shining-blue Kingfisher

Alcedo quadribrachys

Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Odzala-Kokoua National Park

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

13 Verified sightings at Odzala-Kokoua National Park From 2019 to 2026
406 In all 5 parks
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Shining-blue Kingfisher

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 →

Sounds

Flight call0:06

Zambia · 2021

© Dries Van de Loock · XC745599 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:09

Ghana · 2022

© Peter Boesman · XC718835 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Flight call0:30

Zambia · 2021

© Hans Matheve · XC699775 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
2 Odzala-Kokoua National Park 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
~20%
3 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
4 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
~10%
5 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Shining-blue Kingfisher in Odzala-Kokoua National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Shining-blue Kingfisher sighting in Odzala-Kokoua National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 56th most-seen of the 72 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.

What time of day is best to see a Shining-blue Kingfisher?

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.

Is Odzala-Kokoua National Park the best place to see a Shining-blue Kingfisher?

2nd of 5

Of the 5 parks where we can rate Shining-blue Kingfisher sightings, Odzala-Kokoua National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Semuliki National Park (Uganda, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Shining-blue Kingfisher live in Odzala-Kokoua National Park?

Same family: Alcedinidae

The closest relatives of the Shining-blue Kingfisher that you can see in Odzala-Kokoua National Park (family Alcedinidae, Kingfishers) are Blue-breasted Kingfisher (about 40%) and Woodland Kingfisher (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Shining-blue Kingfisher sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Shining-blue Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Odzala-Kokoua National Park (13 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.

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