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
Guadalcanal dwarf kingfisher Guadalcanal dwarf kingfisher The Guadalcanal dwarf kingfisher ("Ceyx nigromaxilla"), is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae that is endemic to Guadalcanal Island. Its natural habitat is sub-tropical or tropical moist lowland forests. This species was formerly considered as one of the 15 recognised subspecies of what was then known as the variable dwarf kingfisher ("Ceyx lepidus" or "Alcedo lepidus"). A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2013 found that most of the insular subspecies had substantially diverged from one another. The variable dwarf kingfisher was therefore split and 12 of the subspecies, including the Guadalcanal dwarf kingfisher, were promoted