CreatureData

Grey-headed kingfisher

Halcyon leucocephala (P. L. S. Müller, 1776)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala) is a species in the family Alcedinidae, order Coraciiformes. Recorded adults weigh 41.8 g to 43.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala)
Photo: Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the grey-headed kingfisher

Weight
41.8 g – 43.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
18 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3.5 – 3.65src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the grey-headed kingfisher

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala)
Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the grey-headed kingfisher live?

Not recorded

What is the grey-headed kingfisher?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala) is a species of bird in the kingfisher family, Alcedinidae. It is found across large parts of Africa and southern Arabia, from Mauritania through Senegal and the Gambia, east to Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, Oman and Saudi Arabia, and south all the way through to South Africa. It is also found in islands off the African coast such as the Cape Verde islands and Zanzibar.

From the Wikipedia article “Grey-headed kingfisher” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grey-headed_kingfisher&oldid=1357327018), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the grey-headed kingfisher endangered?

The grey-headed kingfisher is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the grey-headed kingfisher classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCoraciiformes
  5. familyAlcedinidae
  6. genusHalcyon
  7. SpeciesHalcyon leucocephala (P. L. S. Müller, 1776)

Synonyms Halcyon swainsonii, Pseudhalcyon leucocephala

Other names and names in other languages (48)
  • Chestnut-bellied kingfisherEnglish
  • Chestnut-bellied kingfisherEnglish
  • GHKIEnglish
  • Gray-headed kingfisherEnglish
  • GryskopvisvangerAfrikaans
  • رفراف رمادي الرأسArabic
  • Diredig penn grisBreton
  • alció capgrísCatalan
  • lednácek šedohlavýCzech
  • ledňáček šedohlavýCzech
  • pysgotwr penllwydWelsh
  • Gråhovedet IsfuglDanish
  • GraukopfliestGerman
  • grizkapa alcionoEsperanto
  • Grizkapa arbalcionoEsperanto
  • Alción cabeciblancoSpanish
  • hallpea-safiirlindEstonian
  • harmaapääkalastajaFinnish
  • Martin-chasseur à tête griseFrench
  • Cruidín ceannliathIrish
  • שלדג אפור-ראשHebrew
  • szürkefejű halkapóHungarian
  • GráþyrillIcelandic
  • Martin pescatore testagrigiaItalian
  • ハイガシラショウビンJapanese
  • Baltagalvis halcionasLithuanian
  • pilkagalvis halcionasLithuanian
  • pelēkgalvas dzenītisLatvian
  • GrijskopijsvogelDutch
  • gråhodeisfuglNorwegian
  • łowiec szarogłowyPolish
  • passarinhaPortuguese
  • Guarda-rios-de-cabeca-cinzentaPortuguese
  • guarda-rios-de-cabeça-cinzentaPortuguese
  • martim-caçador-de-barrete-cinzentoPortuguese
  • Сероголовая альционаRussian
  • Сероголовый зимородокRussian
  • RánessoadjafiskárNorthern Sami
  • Rybárik sivohlavýSlovak
  • rybárikovec bledohlavýSlovak
  • sivoglavi gozdomecSlovenian
  • Sivoglavi vodomarSerbian
  • gråhuvad kungsfiskareSwedish
  • Boz Başlı YalıçapkınıTurkish
  • Boz-başlı YalıçapkınıTurkish
  • альціон сіроголовийUkrainian
  • 灰头翡翠Chinese
  • 灰頭翡翠Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the grey-headed kingfisher

Other species in the same genus Halcyon.

CompareGrey-headed kingfisher vs White-throated kingfisherGrey-headed kingfisher vs Black-capped kingfisherGrey-headed kingfisher vs Ruddy kingfisherGrey-headed kingfisher vs Woodland kingfisher

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the grey-headed kingfisher?

An adult grey-headed kingfisher weighs 41.8 g – 43.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the grey-headed kingfisher endangered?

The grey-headed kingfisher is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the grey-headed kingfisher?

The grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala) belongs to the family Alcedinidae in the order Coraciiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-headed-kingfisher

MLA

“Grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-headed-kingfisher.

BibTeX
@misc{grey_headed_kingfisher_2026,
  title = {Grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-headed-kingfisher},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}