---
title: "Striped Kingfisher"
description: "Halcyon chelicuti — Birds. The striped kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti) is a species of bird in the tree kingfisher subfamily."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/striped-kingfisher
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Striped Kingfisher

> Halcyon chelicuti — Birds. The striped kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti) is a species of bird in the tree kingfisher subfamily.

- Scientific name: *Halcyon chelicuti*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 1788
- Wikidata: [Q1269164](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1269164)
- iNaturalist taxon: [2334](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/2334)

## Names

- en: Striped Kingfisher
- de: Streifenliest
- es: Alción estriado
- fr: Martin-chasseur strié
- nl: Gestreepte ijsvogel
- pt: Pica-peixe-riscado
- pl: Łowiec kreskowany

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (575), TZ (232), KE (158), UG (133), BW (105), GM (75), MW (74), ZM (58), ET (39), MZ (37), ZW (33), AO (28)

## Summary

The striped kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti) is a species of bird in the tree kingfisher subfamily. It was first described by Edward, Lord Stanley, in Salt's Voyage to Abyssinia in 1814 as "Chelicut kingfisher" Alaudo Chelicuti.
The genus name Halcyon comes from a bird in Greek legend generally associated with the kingfisher. There was an ancient belief that the halcyon nested on the sea, which it calmed in order to lay its eggs on a floating nest. The species' name chelicuti derives from Chelicut in Ethiopia, the location at which Stanley's type specimen was obtained.
This is a highly territorial bird which will chase…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Striped_kingfisher

## Photo

![Striped Kingfisher](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/striped-kingfisher/medium.jpg)

Photo: Francesco Cecere · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3845101

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/striped-kingfisher?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).