Halcyon senegalensis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The woodland kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis) is a tree kingfisher that is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus included the woodland kingfisher with the binomial name Alcedo senegalensis in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae which was published in 1766. Linnaeus based his formal description on "Le Grand Martin-Pescher du Sénégal" that the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson had described and illustrated in 1760. The current genus Halcyon was introduced by the English naturalist and artist William Swainson in 1821, with the woodland kingfisher as the type species.
Three subspecies are recognised: This is a medium-sized kingfisher, 23 cm (9.1 in) in length. The adult has a bright blue back, wing panel and tail. Its head, neck and underparts are white, and its shoulders are black. The flight of the woodland kingfisher... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazzaville | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 2 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 4 | Yaoundé | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | |
| 5 | Abidjan | 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire | |
| 6 | Monrovia | 🇱🇷 Liberia | |
| 7 | Bujumbura | 🇧🇮 Burundi | |
| 8 | Lagos | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 9 | Maiduguri | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 10 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valencia Bioparc | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Woodland Kingfisher sighting in Pilanesberg National Park on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 177th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Woodland Kingfisher in Pilanesberg National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April to November, the lowest months. That is one of Pilanesberg National Park's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain against almost none in August.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Woodland 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.
30th of 35
Of the 35 parks where we can rate Woodland Kingfisher sightings, Pilanesberg National Park ranks 30th at under 5%. The best odds are in Semuliki National Park (Uganda, about 70%), Lake Mburo National Park (Uganda, about 60%) and Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Woodland Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Pilanesberg National Park (21 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.
