Giant African Kingfisher

A good place to get a close-up on these birds in Southern Africa nature parks, is while crossing bridges over many of the wide rivers, They like using the edge ...
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A good place to get a close-up on these birds in Southern Africa nature parks, is while crossing bridges over many of the wide rivers, They like using the edge of the bridge as a perch to catch small fish. If one approach them slowly, they will likely not even fly away.

The Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) is the largest kingfisher in Africa, where it is a resident breeding bird over most of the continent south of the Sahara Desert other than the arid southwest. M. m. maxima, Kruger Park, South Africa There are two subspecies, M. m. maxima, found in open country, and M. m. gigantea in the rainforest. The forest race is darker, less spotted above, and more barred below than maxima, but the two forms intergrade along the forest edge zone.

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