I seem to really enjoy seeing kingfishers wherever I come across them and this one was no exception. The Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) is the largest kingfisher in Africa and at around 40-45cm is only beaten in size by the body mass of the kookaburras of Australia for the largest in the world. Sexing the giant kingfisher is a fairly simple task, the males have a brown chest band with speckled white markings below, whilst the females are the reverse – speckled white chest band and brown below. These birds are found in most of sub-saharan Africa except for the southwest coast, and, as with most kingfishers, they can often be seen watching from a perch ready to pounce should they spot a fish, frog or other small invertebrate or crab below. Seeing these particular kingfishers hover (below) is also a pretty special treat, they most often fish direct from the perch.
