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
Brown-headed paradise kingfisher is dark purplish blue, the bill is red and the legs and feet are pink or orange. Brown-headed paradise kingfisher The brown-headed paradise kingfisher ("Tanysiptera danae"), also known as the russet paradise kingfisher, is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is endemic to the lowland forest in south east Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Like all paradise kingfishers this bird has colourful plumage with a red bill and distinctive long tail streamers. The first formal description of the brown-headed paradise kingfisher was by the English ornithologist