Malagasy kingfisher
Corythornis vintsioides (Eydoux & Gervais, 1836)
The malagasy kingfisher (Corythornis vintsioides) is a species in the family Alcedinidae, order Coraciiformes. Recorded adults weigh 17 g to 18 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the malagasy kingfisher
- Weight
- 17 g – 18 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- riverinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the malagasy kingfisher
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the malagasy kingfisher live?
Not recorded
What is the malagasy kingfisher?
The Malagasy kingfisher or Madagascar kingfisher (Corythornis vintsioides) is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae that is found in Madagascar, Mayotte and the Comoros. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.
The Malagasy kingfisher was formally described by the French naturalists Joseph Eydoux and Paul Gervais in 1836 and given the binomial name Alcedo vintsioides. It is closely related to the malachite kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus) which is widely distributed in mainland Africa. It is one of only two kingfishers that occur in Madagascar. The other is the Madagascar pygmy kingfisher (Corythornis madagascariensis).
There are two subspecies:
C. v. johannae Meinertzhagen, R., 1924 – Comoro Islands
C. v. vintsioides (Eydoux & Gervais, 1836) – Madagascar
The Malagasy kingfisher is 13 cm (5.1 in) in length with a weight of 16.5 to 22 g (0.58 to 0.78 oz). It has dark blue upperparts, rufous underparts and a crested blue-and-green-barred crown. The bill is black. The sexes are alike. The blue plumage of the race C. v. johannae is paler and greener than that of the nominate.
From the Wikipedia article “Malagasy kingfisher” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Malagasy_kingfisher&oldid=1325330532), 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 malagasy kingfisher endangered?
The malagasy kingfisher is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- 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 malagasy kingfisher classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCoraciiformes
- familyAlcedinidae
- genusCorythornis
- SpeciesCorythornis vintsioides (Eydoux & Gervais, 1836)
Synonyms Alcedo cristata vintsioides
Other names and names in other languages (40)
- Madagascar kingfisherEnglish
- Madagascar kingfisherEnglish
- Madagascar malachite kingfisherEnglish
- MAKIEnglish
- رفراف ملغاشيArabic
- blauet de MadagascarCatalan
- ledňáček chocholatýCzech
- MadagascarisfuglDanish
- MadagaskarzwergfischerGerman
- MalegassenzwergfischerGerman
- Schwarzschnabel-ZwergfischerGerman
- malagasa alcionoEsperanto
- Martín pescador malgacheSpanish
- madagaskari tutt-jäälindEstonian
- madagaskarinkalastajaFinnish
- Martin-pêcheur vintsiFrench
- madagaskarski vodomarCroatian
- madagaszkári jégmadárHungarian
- Martin pescatore malgascioItalian
- Martin pescatore malachite del MadagascarItalian
- マダガスカルカンムリカワセミJapanese
- madagaskarinis tulžysLithuanian
- VintsyMalagasy
- LitotsyMalagasy
- VintsiranoMalagasy
- ZwartsnavelijsvogelDutch
- madagaskarisfuglNorwegian
- zimorodek czarnodziobyPolish
- guarda-rios-malgaxePortuguese
- pica-peixinho-malgaxePortuguese
- Черноклювый зимородокRussian
- Мадагаскарский зимородокRussian
- rybárik čiernozobýSlovak
- madagaskarski vodomecSlovenian
- madagaskarkungsfiskareSwedish
- Madagaskar Tepeli YalıçapkınıTurkish
- Madagaskar Malahit yalıçapkınıTurkish
- рибалочка малагасійськийUkrainian
- 马岛翠鸟Chinese
- 馬達加斯加翠鳥Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the malagasy kingfisher
Other species in the same genus Corythornis.
Madagascar pygmy kingfisher
Corythornis madagascariensis
White-bellied kingfisher
Corythornis leucogaster
Malachite kingfisher
Corythornis cristatus
CompareMalagasy kingfisher vs Madagascar pygmy kingfisherMalagasy kingfisher vs White-bellied kingfisherMalagasy kingfisher vs Malachite kingfisher
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the malagasy kingfisher?
An adult malagasy kingfisher weighs 17 g – 18 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the malagasy kingfisher endangered?
The malagasy 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 malagasy kingfisher?
The malagasy kingfisher (Corythornis vintsioides) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Malagasy kingfisher (Corythornis vintsioides). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/malagasy-kingfisher
“Malagasy kingfisher (Corythornis vintsioides).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/malagasy-kingfisher.
@misc{malagasy_kingfisher_2026,
title = {Malagasy kingfisher (Corythornis vintsioides)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/malagasy-kingfisher},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}