White-Throated Kingfisher
Halcyon smyrnensis
Also known as: White-Breasted Kingfisher, Smyrna Kingfisher, Wtki
About This Species
A conspicuous, chunky kingfisher with a bright blue back and chocolate-brown head, it perches prominently on wires, fence posts and bare branches across South and Southeast Asia and parts of the Middle East, often well away from water. Its loud, ringing call is frequently the first clue to its presence, and unlike many kingfishers it takes a broad diet of insects, small reptiles and rodents as well as fish. It is resident year-round and easiest to see in open countryside, farmland edges and gardens with a clear perch and open ground nearby.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- It is generally confident around people and will often stay on a perch at 10-15 metres, so there is rarely a need to approach closer for a clear view.
- Legal protection for this species varies across its wide range, from strict protection in some countries to no specific safeguard in others, so local regulations should be checked rather than assumed.
- Avoiding approach to nest burrows dug into earth banks during the breeding season is a sound precaution wherever it is found.
Seasonal Activity
1,333,492 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.