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Where to see

Where to see the Grey-headed Kingfisher in South Africa

Hosts have recorded the Grey-headed Kingfisher at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Timbavati Private Nature Reserve and iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

Halcyon leucocephala

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Grey-headed Kingfisher
Photo: (c) Adrien Jailloux, some rights reserved (CC BY)

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Grey-headed Kingfisher

Hosts have recorded the Grey-headed Kingfisher at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Timbavati Private Nature Reserve and iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

Best hours of the day

  • The first hours after sunrise, and late afternoon. Birds call and feed most in the cool.
  • Midday. Quieter, especially in summer heat.

Where to base yourself

  • Limpopo

    Limpopo

    Kruger · Timbavati

    Self-driveGuided drives
    Stays in Limpopo
    Limpopo
  • KwaZulu-Natal

    KwaZulu-Natal

    iSimangaliso Wetland

    Stays in KwaZulu-Natal
    KwaZulu-Natal

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

Kruger

Guided drives from a lodge

A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.

Where hosts record it

Timbavati

Species

Halcyon leucocephala

Records

133

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the Grey-headed Kingfisher on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

Which parks and reserves are best for the Grey-headed Kingfisher in South Africa?

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Grey-headed Kingfisher at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Timbavati Private Nature Reserve and iSimangaliso Wetland Park. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

Where can you see the Grey-headed Kingfisher in South Africa?

The Grey-headed Kingfisher is most recorded in Limpopo (46% of records), Mpumalanga (35% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (11% of records), based on 133 iNaturalist observations. 14 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Grey-headed Kingfisher on site or nearby.

When is the best time to see the Grey-headed Kingfisher?

Sightings of the Grey-headed Kingfisher peak from Feb to Mar, based on 133 iNaturalist records. You may still see it outside those months, sightings are just less frequent.

What is the Grey-headed Kingfisher?

The grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala) has a wide distribution from the Cape Verde Islands off the north-west coast of Africa to Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, east to Ethiopia, Somalia and southern Arabia and south to South Africa.

Stays that give back

Where to stay for a chance to see the Grey-headed Kingfisher

Every stay on the Grey-headed Kingfisher page lists the species its host has recorded on or near the property. A record is a sighting, never a promise.

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