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
Belted kingfisher naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848. "Megaceryle" is from the Ancient Greek "megas", "great", and the existing genus "Ceryle". The specific "alcyon" is Latin for "kingfisher". The "Megaceryle" large green kingfishers were formerly placed in "Ceryle" with the pied kingfisher, but the latter is closer to the "Chloroceryle" American green kingfishers. The belted kingfisher's closest living relative is the ringed kingfisher ("M. torquata"), and these two in all probability originated from an African "Megaceryle" which colonized the Americas. The belted kingfisher is a stocky, medium-sized bird that measures between in length with a wingspan of between . This kingfisher can