The striped kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti) underparts are off-white, buffier on the breast, with brown streaks on the sides in Kenyan bird and also on the breast in southern African birds – the top of the head is also streaked dark brown. A highly territorial bird, the striped kingfisher eats mostly grasshoppers followed by other large insects. First described by English politician and naturalist Edward, Lord Stanley, 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.
