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
Moluccan dwarf kingfisher Moluccan dwarf kingfisher. Moluccan dwarf kingfisher The Moluccan dwarf kingfisher ("Ceyx lepidus"), formerly known as the variable dwarf kingfisher, is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae that is endemic to the Maluku Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. This species was previous named the variable dwarf kingfisher and had 15 recognised subspecies. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2013 found that most of the taxa had substantially diverged from each other. The species was therefore split and 12 of the subspecies were promoted to species status. At the same time the name was