Kingfisher in length and between in weight. The largest kingfisher in Africa is the giant kingfisher ("Megaceryle maxima"), which is in length and in weight. The familiar Australian kingfisher known as the laughing kookaburra ("Dacelo novaeguineae") is the heaviest species with females reaching nearly in weight. The plumage of most kingfishers is bright, with green and blue being the most common colours. The brightness of the colours is neither the product of iridescence (except in the American kingfishers) or pigments, but is instead caused by the structure of the feathers, which causes scattering of blue light (the Tyndall effect). In most
Shining-blue kingfisher Shining-blue kingfisher The shining-blue kingfisher ("Alcedo quadribrachys") is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is found in Equatorial Africa. The shining-blue kingfisher was described of by the French ornithologist Charles Lucian Bonaparte in 1850 and given its current binomial name "Alcedo quadribrachys". The name "Alcedo" is the Latin word for a "kingfisher". The specific epithet "quadribrachys" is from the Latin "quadri-" for "four" and "brachium" meaning "arms" or in this case "toes". The shining-blue kingfisher is one of seven species in the genus "Alcedo" and is most closely related to the half-collared kingfisher ("Alcedo semitorquata"). There are