Giant fisherman

Giant fisherman
	Male giant fisherman ( Megaceryle maxima )
Systematics
Order :	Rockers (Coraciiformes)
Family :	Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)
Subfamily :	Fishing Kingfisher (Cerylinae)
Genre :	Long-tailed fisherman ( Megaceryle )
Type :	Giant fisherman
Scientific name
	Megaceryle maxima
	( Pallas , 1769)

The giant fisherman ( Megaceryle maxima ) is the largest kingfisher on the African continent; Two subspecies ( Megaceryle maxima maxima and Megaceryle maxima gigantea ) are described of the species, which is unmistakable in its area of origin .

features

Giant fisherman with caught fish

The giant fisherman is one of the larger kingfishers and reaches a size of 46 cm. The head and upper sides of the wings are speckled gray-white. The male has a rust-brown spot on the neck. The female has a russet chest. Their wing undersides are also colored rust-brown in the front area.

Occurrence

The distribution area of the giant fisherman is in Africa south of the Sahara. It extends from Senegal and Ethiopia in the north to South Africa in the south. It lives on rivers and bodies of water with favorable hiding spots for hunting fish, crabs and amphibians.

literature

C. Hilary Fry , Kathie Fry: Kingfishers, Bee-Eaters, & Rollers. Princeton, New Jersey 1992, 1999, ISBN 0-691-04879-7 .

Web links

Commons : Riesenfischer - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Videos, photos and sound recordings for Megaceryle maxima in the Internet Bird Collection
Megaceryle maxima in the Red List of Endangered Species of the IUCN 2013.2. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
Video: rearing young at the giant fisherman . Institute for Scientific Film (IWF) 1995, made available by the Technical Information Library (TIB), doi : 10.3203 / IWF / D-1850 .