The brown-hooded kingfisher (''Halcyon albiventris'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It has a brown head and blackish and turquoise wings. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, living in woodland, scrubland, forest edges, and also suburban areas. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern.

Taxonomy

This species was described as ''Alcedo albiventris'' by

Giovanni Antonio Scopoli Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italian physician and natural history, naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first anational ...

in 1786. Four

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognised: ''Halcyon albiventris albiventris'', ''H. a. orientalis'', ''H. a. prentissgrayi'' and ''H. a. vociferans''. Subspecies ''hylophila'' and ''erlangeri'' have also been described, but they are not considered distinct enough.

Description

The brown-hooded kingfisher is about long. The head is brown, with blackish streaks. There is a broad buffy collar above the brownish-black mantle. The wing coverts are mostly brownish-black, and the secondary

flight feather Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...

s are turquoise. The rump is azure-blue. The chin is white, the breast is tawny with some dark streaks, and the belly is buffy. The beak is red, tipped brown, the legs are carmine, and the eyes are dark brown. The female has dark brown upperparts, and its underparts are more streaked than the male. The

juvenile Juvenile may refer to: *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood *Juvenile (organism) *Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), American rapper * ''Juvenile'' (2000 film), Japanese film * ''Juvenile'' (2017 film) *Juvenile (greyhounds), a greyho ...

bird is duller, with scalloped whitish underparts. The subspecies differ in shade and streaking.

Distribution and habitat

This kingfisher is found in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

, in Gabon, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini. It occurs below in elevation, living in

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

with trees,

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

, forest edge, and also cultivations, parks and gardens. It sometimes occurs near water, and can adapt to suburban habitats. Most populations do not migrate, but there is evidence of seasonal movements in some areas.

Behaviour

This kingfisher is generally seen alone or in pairs. It usually forages on the ground, mainly feeding on insects, and also eating scorpions, reptiles, small birds, rodents and fishes. Eating snakes and lizards as long as has been reported. The

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

, given while vibrating the wings, is a ''tiiiu'' or ''ki-ti-ti-ti'' trill, and a sharp ''cheerit'' is given when alarmed. The breeding season is mainly between September and April. A burrow nest is dug in a river bank, gully or road cutting. The family stays together for a few weeks after breeding. Male Brown-hooded Kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris) in Pigeonwood tree.jpg, Juvenile Brown-hooded Kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris).jpg, Brown Hooded Kingfisher.jpg, Bruinkopvisvanger.jpg,

Status

This species has a large range, stable population and no substantial threats, so the IUCN has assessed it as a least-concern species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q790658

brown-hooded kingfisher The brown-hooded kingfisher (''Halcyon albiventris'') is a species of bird in the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It has a brown head and blackish and turquoise wings. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, living in woodland, scrubland, ...

Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa

Birds of East Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot