| Linguistics |
| Actual scientific name : |
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Megaceryle maxima |
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| Old scientific name : |
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Megaceryle maxima maxima |
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| French name : |
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Martin-pêcheur géant |
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| English name : |
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Giant Kingfisher |
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| Vernacular name : |
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| Musabula munene; ntelo; tshiema (Tshiluba) ; nsenga (Lomongo) ; Kangalui (Kiluba) | |
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| Zoology |
| Call : |
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| Description : |
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This kingfisher is unmistakable with its large size, its white-spotted back, its rufous breast (male) or belly (female) and its black bill. |
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| Habitat : |
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Common on streams. |
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| Behaviour : |
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Emits a loud alarming call "khak-kah-kahk" when flies off as an intruder approaches. |
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| Diet : |
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Feeds on fish, sometimes crabs, small reptiles and amphibians. |
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| Life history : |
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Nests here during the dry season, mainly in August, in a gallery dug in riverbanks when water level is low. |
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| History, Ethnology, Sociology |
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Warning :
This database was established according to official pieces of work and with the help of famous scientists. However, there might be some errors.
The vernacular names were collected in the field and in the colonial literature from the first part of the 20th century. The monks who established the first dictionaries were not necessarily informed naturalists. Therefore, errors must have been committed.
We invite everyone who could help us to improve this working tool to contact us in order to correct us and share her/his knowledge with us.
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ROOT > Vertebrata (Vertebrates) > Aves (Birds) > Coraciiformes > Alcedinidae (kingfishers)
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