Halcyon smyrnensis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) also known as the white-breasted kingfisher is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Asia from the Sinai east through the Indian subcontinent to China and Indonesia. This kingfisher is a resident over much of its range, although some populations may make short distance movements. It can often be found well away from water where it feeds on a wide range of prey that includes small reptiles, amphibians, crabs, small rodents and even birds. During the breeding season they call loudly in the mornings from prominent perches including the tops of buildings in urban areas or on wires.
The white-throated kingfisher is one of the many birds that were first formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He coined the binomial name Alcedo smyrnensis. Linnaeus cited Eleazar Albin's Natural History of Birds published in 1738 that included a description and a plate of the "Smirna Kingfisher". Albin's specimen was preserved in alcohol and had been collected by the botanist William Sherard who served as the British Consul at Smyrna between 1703 and 1716. The present... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yangon | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | |
| 2 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Tamluk | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Savar | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 5 | Ponnani | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Tiruchirappalli | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Visakhapatnam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Madurai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Jabalpur | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | El Paso Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 5 | Ocean Park Hong Kong | 🇨🇳 China |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a White-throated Kingfisher sighting in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, based on 378 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 9th most-seen of the 166 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November and December
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a White-throated Kingfisher in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, against about 40% in October, the lowest month. Those are among Udawalawe National Park's wettest months, with about 250 mm of rain a month against 45 mm in June.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-throated 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.
11th of 37
Of the 37 parks where we can rate White-throated Kingfisher sightings, Udawalawe National Park ranks 11th at about 70%. The best odds are in Keoladeo National Park (India, about 80%), Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 80%) and Chitwan National Park (Nepal, about 80%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Alcedinidae
The closest relatives of the White-throated Kingfisher that you can see in Udawalawe National Park (family Alcedinidae, Kingfishers) are Common Kingfisher (about 40%), Pied Kingfisher (about 10%) and Stork-billed Kingfisher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-throated Kingfisher is recorded against all the birds logged in Udawalawe National Park (378 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.
