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Halcyoninae
The tree kingfishers, also called wood kingfishers or Halcyoninae, are the most numerous of the three family (biology), subfamilies of birds in the kingfisher family, with around 70 species divided into 12 genus, genera, including several species of kookaburras. The subfamily appears to have arisen in Indochina and Maritime Southeast Asia and then spread to many areas around the world. Tree kingfishers are widespread through Asia and Australasia, but also appear in Africa and the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, using a range of habitats from tropical rainforest to open woodlands. The tree kingfishers are short-tailed, large-headed, compact birds with long, pointed bills. Like other Coraciiformes, they are brightly coloured. Most are monogamous and territorial, nesting in holes in trees or termite nests. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. Although some tree kingfishers frequent wetlands, none are specialist fish-eaters. Most species dive onto prey from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, but also can be seen in Europe. They can be found in deep forests near calm ponds and small rivers. The family contains 114 species and is divided into three subfamilies and 19 genera. All kingfishers have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright plumage with only small differences between the sexes. Most species are tropical in distribution, and a slight majority are found only in forests. They consume a wide range of prey usually caught by swooping down from a perch. While kingfishers are usually thought to live near rivers and eat fish, many species live away from water and eat small invertebrates. Like other members of their order, they nest in cavities, usually tunnels dug into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hook-billed Kingfisher
The hook-billed kingfisher (''Melidora macrorrhina'') is a species of kingfisher in the subfamily Halcyoninae that is resident in the lowland forested areas of New Guinea and some of the nearby islands. It is the only member of the genus ''Melidora''. Taxonomy The first formal description of the hook-billed kingfisher was by the French surgeon and naturalist René Lesson in 1827 under the binomial name ''Dacelo macrorrhina''. The hook-billed kingfisher is now the only species placed within the genus ''Melidora'' which was introduced by Lesson in 1830. The title page has the year 1831. The name of the genus probably comes from the classical Greek ''mēlis'' for "yellow" and ''doru'' for "spear". The specific epithet ''macrorrhina'' is from the classical Greek ''makros'' for "long" and ''rhis'' for "nose". There are three subspecies: * ''M. m. waigiuensis'' Hartert, 1930 – Waigeo Island * ''M. m. macrorrhina'' (Lesson, R, 1827) – west, central, and east New Guinea, Misool and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melidora
The hook-billed kingfisher (''Melidora macrorrhina'') is a species of kingfisher in the subfamily Halcyoninae that is resident in the lowland forested areas of New Guinea and some of the nearby islands. It is the only member of the genus ''Melidora''. Taxonomy The first Species description, formal description of the hook-billed kingfisher was by the French surgeon and naturalist René Lesson in 1827 under the binomial name ''Dacelo macrorrhina''. The hook-billed kingfisher is now the only species placed within the genus ''Melidora'' which was introduced by Lesson in 1830. The title page has the year 1831. The name of the genus probably comes from the classical Greek ''mēlis'' for "yellow" and ''doru'' for "spear". The specific epithet ''macrorrhina'' is from the classical Greek ''makros'' for "long" and ''rhis'' for "nose". There are three subspecies: * ''M. m. waigiuensis'' Ernst Hartert, Hartert, 1930 – Waigeo, Waigeo Island * ''M. m. macrorrhina'' (Lesson, R, 1827) – west ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glittering Kingfisher
The white-rumped kingfisher or glittering kingfisher (''Caridonax fulgidus'') is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Caridonax''. It is endemic to Indonesia, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f .... Description It is dark blue all over, except its underside and rump, which are white. It has a red bill and feet. Its eyes are dark brown. References White-rumped kingfisher Birds of the Lesser Sunda Islands Flores Island (Indonesia) White-rumped kingfisher Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Coraciiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Actenoides
''Actenoides'' is a genus of kingfishers in the subfamily Halcyoninae. The genus ''Actenoides'' was introduced by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850. The type species is Hombron's kingfisher (''Actenoides hombroni''). The name of the genus is from the classical Greek ' for "beam" or "brightness" and ' for "resembling". A molecular study published in 2017 found that the genus ''Actenoides'', as currently defined, is paraphyletic. The glittering kingfisher in the monotypic genus ''Caridonax'' is a member of the clade containing the species in the genus ''Actenoides''. The genus contains the following species: * Green-backed kingfisher (''Actenoides monachus'') :* Black-headed kingfisher (''Actenoides monachus capucinus'') * Scaly-breasted kingfisher (''Actenoides princeps'') :* Plain-backed kingfisher (''Actenoides princeps regalis'') * Moustached kingfisher (''Actenoides bougainvillei'') :*Guadalcanal moustached kingfisher (''Actenoides bougainvillei ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caridonax
The white-rumped kingfisher or glittering kingfisher (''Caridonax fulgidus'') is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Caridonax''. It is endemic to Indonesia, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. Description It is dark blue all over, except its underside and rump, which are white. It has a red bill and feet. Its eyes are dark brown. References Halcyoninae, White-rumped kingfisher Birds of the Lesser Sunda Islands Flores Island (Indonesia) Birds described in 1857, White-rumped kingfisher Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Coraciiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halcyon (genus)
''Halcyon'' () is a genus of the tree kingfishers, near passerine birds in the subfamily Halcyoninae. Taxonomy The genus ''Halcyon'' was introduced by the English naturalist and artist William John Swainson in 1821. He named the type species as the woodland kingfisher (''Halcyon senegalensis''). "Halcyon" is a name for a bird in Greek legend generally associated with the kingfisher. There was an ancient belief that the bird nested on the sea, which it calmed in order to lay its eggs on a floating nest. Two weeks of calm weather were therefore expected around the winter solstice. This myth leads to the use of halcyon as a term for peace or calmness. The genus contains 12 species: * However, other sources, including Fry & Fry, lump the genera ''Pelargopsis'', '' Syma'' and '' Todirhamphus'' into ''Halcyon'' to make a much larger grouping. Geographic distribution The genus ''Halcyon'' in the current sense consists mainly of species resident in sub-Saharan Africa, with a couple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banded Kingfisher
The banded kingfisher (''Lacedo pulchella'') is a tree kingfisher found in lowland tropical forests of southeast Asia. It is the only member of the genus ''Lacedo''. Male and female adults are very different in plumage. The male has a bright blue crown with black and blue banding on the back. The female has rufous and black banding on the head and upperparts. Taxonomy The first formal description of the species was by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield in 1821 under the binomial name ''Dacelo pulchella''. The current genus ''Lacedo'' was introduced by the German ornithologist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1851. The word ''Lacedo'' is an anagram of ''Alcedo'', the Latin word for kingfisher. The specific name ''pulchella'' is Latin for "very pretty". There are three subspecies: *''L. p. pulchella'', the nominate race, breeds in Malaysia south of 7°N and on the islands of Sumatra and Java. *''L. p. amabilis'' breeds from northern Malaysia northwards. It is slightly larger than the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Todiramphus
''Todiramphus'' is a genus of kingfishers in the subfamily Halcyoninae. The genus was introduced by the French surgeon and naturalist René Lesson in 1827. The name is often spelt ''Todirhamphus'' (with ''rh''), but ''Todiramphus'' is the original valid spelling. The name literally means "tody-bill"; tody is a relative of the kingfishers with a similar slender long bill, and the Greek ' () means "beak" or "bill". There are around 30 extant species in the genus, but the classification of several Pacific island forms is still unclear. The range of the genus extends from the Red Sea in the west to French Polynesia in the east, with the greatest diversity in Australasia. Members of ''Todiramphus'' are medium-sized kingfishers with flattened beaks. They are typically blue or blue-green above with pale underparts. They often have a pale collar and stripe over the eye. Many species are commonly found well away from water and feed largely on terrestrial animals such as insects and liza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodland Kingfisher
The woodland kingfisher (''Halcyon senegalensis'') is a tree kingfisher that is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. Taxonomy The Southern Africa naturalist Carl Linnaeus included the woodland kingfisher with the binomial name ''Alcedo senegalensis'' in the twelfth edition of his '' System Natureul'' which was published in 1766. Linnaeus based his formal description on "Le Grand Martin-Pescher du Sénégal" that the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson had described and illustrated in 1760. The current genus ''Halcyon'' was introduced by the English naturalist and artist William John Swainson in 1821, with the woodland kingfisher as the type species. Three subspecies are recognised: * ''H. s. fuscopileus'' Reichenow, 1906 – Sierra Leone to south Nigeria and south to DR Congo and north Angola * ''H. s. senegalensis'' (Linnaeus, 1766) – Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia and north Tanzania * ''H. s. cyanoleuca'' (Vieillot, 1818) – south Angola and west ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dacelo
Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The loud, distinctive call of the laughing kookaburra is widely used as a stock sound effect in situations that involve an Australian bush setting or tropical jungle, especially in older movies. They are found in habitats ranging from humid forest to arid savannah, as well as in suburban areas with tall trees or near running water. Though they belong to the larger group known as "kingfishers", kookaburras are not closely associated with water. Taxonomy The genus ''Dacelo'' was introduced by English zoologist William Elford Leach in 1815. The type species is the laughing kookaburra. The name ''Dacelo'' is an anagram of ''alcedo'', the Latin word for a kingfisher. A molecular study published in 2017 found that the genus ''Dacelo'', as currently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanysiptera
The paradise kingfishers (genus ''Tanysiptera'') are a group of tree kingfishers endemic to New Guinea — with the exception of two species also present in the Moluccas and Queensland. The genus was erected by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825. The type species is the common paradise kingfisher. The name ''Tanysiptera'' is from classical Greek ''tanusipteros'' meaning "long-feathered". The birds in the genus have distinctive long tail streamers. Habitat and distribution The centre of paradise kingfishers is New Guinea: Several species occur on this 786,000 km2 large island. In addition, there are several island endemisms that occur on islands of the Moluccas and the Louisiade Archipelago. Most paradise kingfishers are resident birds. The buff-breasted paradise kingfisher, which also occurs in the extreme northeast of Australia, moves to New Guinea in the winter half-year. The common paradise kingfisher has the biggest spread among the paradisiacis birds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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