Madagascar Kingfisher

Open encyclopedia reference

The Malagasy kingfisher or Madagascar kingfisher (Corythornis vintsioides) is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae that is found in Madagascar, Mayotte and the Comoros. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.

The Malagasy kingfisher was formally described by the French naturalists Joseph Eydoux and Paul Gervais in 1836 and given the binomial name Alcedo vintsioides. It is closely related to the malachite kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus) which is widely distributed in mainland Africa. It is one of only two kingfishers that occur in Madagascar. The other is the Madagascar pygmy kingfisher (Corythornis madagascariensis).

There are two subspecies:

C. v. johannae Meinertzhagen, R., 1924 – Comoro Islands

C. v. vintsioides (Eydoux & Gervais, 1836) – Madagascar

The Malagasy kingfisher is 13 cm (5.1 in) in length with a weight of 16.5 to 22 g (0.58 to 0.78 oz). It has dark blue upperparts, rufous underparts and a crested blue-and-green-barred crown. The bill is black. The sexes are alike. The blue plumage of the race C. v. johannae is paler and greener than that of the nominate.

Wikipedia contributors, Malagasy kingfisher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:49:39.272831+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Corythornis vintsioides (Eydoux & Gervais, 1836)

Name authority

(Eydoux & Gervais, 1836)

Common name

Madagascar Kingfisher

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Coraciiformes

Family

Alcedinidae

Genus

Corythornis

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderCoraciiformes
10. familyAlcedinidae
11. subfamilyAlcedininae
12. genusCorythornis Kaup, 1848
13. speciesCorythornis vintsioides (Eydoux & Gervais, 1836)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Corythornis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 77 records assigned to Alcedinidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1174573 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:8VDSG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.