Fun African Pygmy Kingfisher Facts For Kids

One of the most beautiful species of kingfisher found in southern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, the African pygmy kingfisher (Ceyx pictus) is an extremely magnificent bird.

Many refer to this bird as the Ispidina picta while some more recent scientific texts refer to this bird as Ceyx pictus.

Widely known for its various beautiful features, such as the dark blue crown on the top of its head or the blue back extending all the way to its tail, this love pygmy bird is can be found eating insects and flying across the savannahs of the African continent.

The African kingfisher is a sight for sore eyes and unlike their name suggests, these birds aren't actually fishers by any means. It prefers eating really small insects which constitute most of its diet.

The Ceyx pictus happens to be really famous amongst wildlife photographers and the African pygmy kingfisher bird is often seen attracting photographers to various woodlands of South Africa just to be clicked.

If you like reading about bird facts like this one, be sure to check out red bird of paradise facts, or belted kingfisher facts.

African Pygmy kingfisher interesting facts

What type of animal is an African pygmy kingfisher?

The African pygmy kingfisher is a small, colorful, insectivorous birdie found in the continent of Africa. The African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta) was the identification used for the bird back in the 1700s when it was first discovered. However, as of now, it usually goes by the scientific name of Ceyx pictus.

What class of animal does an African pygmy kingfisher belong to?

The African pygmy kingfisher belongs to the animal class of Aves, like all the other birds of this species.

How many African pygmy kingfishers are there in the world?

Currently, there are over 114 species as Ceyx pictus spread throughout the world. The majority of these kingfisher birds can be found on the continent of Africa, more typically in the savannahs and woodlands of South Africa. The exact number of African pygmy kingfishers in the world is not known.

Where does an African pygmy kingfisher live?

African pygmy kingfisher birds can be found living all over the continent of Africa, however, they are mostly found in the southern parts of Africa. An African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta, Ceyx pictus) can be found living in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as South African regions.

These birds also happen to be migratory by nature like many other species of kingfisher birds and are seen migrating to various countries inside the African continent itself.

What is an African pygmy kingfisher's habitat?

There are not many species similar to the Ceyx pictus when it comes to kingfisher birds. Unlike other kingfishers which prefer living in coastal or riverine habitats, these tiny birds can be seen living easily in the arid savannah regions of southern Africa. These birds are also found in woodlands as well as coastal forest habitats.

Who does the African pygmy kingfisher live with?

Pygmy kingfishers usually form their pairs during their first breeding season. After the pairing is done, these monogamous birds are seen preying, nesting, and living with their partners.

How long does an African pygmy kingfisher live?

African pygmy kingfishers, like most other species of kingfishers, live for around 15 years in the wild.

How do they reproduce?

The African pygmy has several broods throughout the year. Usually, they pick their monogamous partner during the first breeding cycle itself.

Males and females both dig burrows as deep as 11-22 in (30-60 cm) into sandy soils or sometimes, even in termite nests. After the copulation period, the female kingfisher lays around four to six white eggs in the nest. Both parents are responsible for looking after the eggs.

What is their conservation status?

As of today, the conservation status of the African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta) is listed as Least Concern.

African Pygmy Kingfisher Fun Facts

What does the African pygmy kingfisher look like?

The African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta) is a small and really beautiful creature. This bird has a really majestic dark blue crown on the top of its head and also has a long blue back extending up to the tail.

This kingfisher has a reddish-brown back and also a long orange beak. African pygmy kingfisher wings usually show their bright blue color and it is also seen that this little bird has a bluish-purple dot around its neck.

How cute are they?

Pygmy birds are really cute little creatures. However, these birds are often referred to as annoying since people have noticed these birds make really loud and screechy calls in the woodland regions of South Africa, where these birds have a pretty high population.

How do they communicate?

These little birds happen to be really loud and noisy by nature. They are often seen producing high-pitched screechy noises like 'tsip-tsip' which sounds similar to a noise an insect might make.

How big is an African pygmy kingfisher?

The African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta) is a small creature and happens to be one of the smallest species of kingfishers found in the woodland and savannah regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and southern parts of Africa.

These little birds can grow around 4.7 in (12 cm) in the wild which happens to be almost the same size as an adult sunbird that is also found in these regions.

How fast can an African pygmy kingfisher fly?

There is not much information available about the flight speed of this little bird. If the speed of these birds is anywhere near the speed of a belted kingfisher, another little bird belonging to a different species of kingfisher, these birds might be able to fly steadily at speeds of around 36 mph (58 kph).

How much does an African pygmy kingfisher weigh?

Since kingfishers are very small in size, they do not really weigh a lot compared to most other birds. An average adult kingfisher of this species might weigh somewhere around 0.5-0.7 oz (14-20 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There is no unique way to identify or call the different sexes of these birds, both are just referred to as African pygmy kingfishers.

What would you call a baby African pygmy kingfisher?

Like the babies of most other species of birds, African pygmy kingfisher babies can be referred to as chicks.

What do they eat?

The African dwarf kingfisher is insectivorous by nature and its diet usually includes insects that won't be able to put up a fight against this tiny creature. This includes insects such as worms, moths, crickets, dragonflies, praying mantis, or the grasshopper.

Are they dangerous?

No, this tiny bird isn't dangerous at all.

Would they make a good pet?

Kingfishers are a type of birds that belong in the wild and do not adapt to the change in their habitat, similar to birds like parrots or even lovebirds. It is not considered nice to have one of these creatures as a pet.

Did you know...

An African pygmy kingfisher happens to be one of the most famous birds found in the woodland regions of South Africa.

Something that makes these birds special compared to other species of kingfishers is the fact that these birds are actually dwarves and much smaller than other kingfishers. This is also one of the reasons why this little bird is insectivorous, unlike other kingfisher species that actually eat fish.

These birds are seen migrating across the continent of Africa itself mostly during the breeding season.

This species of kingfishers can be said to be endemic as it is only seen migrating in the interior parts of Africa, typically the southern and Sub-Saharan regions.

What type of kingfisher is this bird?

The African pygmy kingfisher is an endemic, insectivorous, dwarf bird typically found in Sub-Saharan or southern Africa.

What is the difference between the malachite vs pygmy kingfisher?

The malachite kingfisher eats fish while the pygmy kingfisher happens to be insectivorous. The color of the malachite kingfisher is much brighter than the pygmy kingfisher. The pygmy kingfisher, as well as the malachite kingfisher, have a similar breeding cycle and they brood throughout the year. Usually, malachites are larger than pygmy birds.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our pelican facts and night heron facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable American pygmy kingfisher coloring pages.