Dave Taylor's African Safari: Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores - Gray-headed Kingfisher

Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores
Gray-headed Kingfisher
Page 22

Halcyon leucoephalus

Length: 20 cm (8 inches)

Status: Common

Habitat: The gray-headed kingfisher differs from most other kingfishers in its choice of habitat. There are several other species of kingfisher in the Serengeti-Mara including the pied kingfisher and the malachite kingfisher but they are found near water. The gray-headed is found in dry, bushed areas up to an altitude of 2 250 meters (8,200 feet).

Food: The gray-headed kingfisher eats grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, caterpillars and small lizards that it spots from its perch above the grass. It then dives down and catches its prey.

It does not eat fish, unlike other kingfishers.

Social System/Behavior: The gray-headed kingfisher is seen either alone or in migrant groups. The female lays three or four eggs in a tunnel it has excavated. The tunnel may be up to a meter (yard) long in a river bank, gully or termite mound. The nest is at the end of the tunnel.

Predators: Snakes, birds of prey and possibly servals prey on this bird. Young gray-headed kingfishers are the most vulnerable to predation.

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