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Species
Alcedinidae
EOL Text
Fossils of kingfishers from as early as 40 million years ago have been found in Wyoming (USA).
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Collection Sites: world map showing specimen collection locations for Alcedinidae
The biggest threat facing most kingfisher populations is the destruction or alteration of their habitat by logging, pollution of water bodies and development. Significant numbers of kingfishers are also killed by shooting, collision with cars and buildings, and accidental poisoning from pesticides and poisons intended for other species. While it appears that many species of kingfishers are relatively adaptable to changes in habitat, the biology of most species is not well known, making conservation planning or prediction of impacts to habitat difficult.
The IUCN lists 1 kingfisher species as “Endangered”, 11 as “Vulnerable”, 12 as “Near-threatened”, and 3 as “Data deficient”. No kingfisher species are listed under any CITES Appendices. In the United States, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists one species, the Guam Micronesian kingfisher (Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina) as endangered. Four species are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
- 2003. "UNEP-WCMC Species Database: CITES-Listed Species" (On-line). Accessed March 26, 2004 at http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html.
- IUCN, 2003. "2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species" (On-line). Accessed March 26, 2004 at http://www.redlist.org/.
- Threatened and Endangered Species System, 2003. "U.S. Listed Vertebrate Animal Species Report by Taoxonomic Group" (On-line). Accessed March 26, 2004 at http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/TESSWebpageVipListed?code=V&listings=0#B.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, date unknown. "Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act" (On-line). Accessed March 26, 2004 at http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/intrnltr/mbta/mbtintro.html.
- United States Department of Agriculture, 2002. "Integrated Taxonomic Information System" (On-line). Accessed March 26, 2004 at http://www.itis.usda.gov/.
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Kingfishers belong to the order Coraciiformes and the family Alcedinidae. Within Coraciiformes, kingfishers are grouped into the suborder Alcidines, with todies (Todidae) and motmots (Motmotidae). Alcedinidae comprises approximately 17 genera and 91 species, and is frequently subdivided into three subfamilies; Alcedininae, which comprises most of the “fishing” kingfishers, Halcyoninae, which comprises the “forest kingfishers” that reside primarily in Australasia, and Cerylinae, which includes all of the New World kingfishers.
Kingfishers are small to medium sized colorful birds with short necks, large heads and long, thick bills. They live primarily in wooded habitats of tropical regions, often near water. Despite their name, not all kingfishers are fishing specialists. While some species do consume primarily fish, most species have unspecialized diets that include a high proportion of insects. Most kingfishers are monogamous, territorial breeders, though a few species breed cooperatively.
- Dickinson, E. 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, 3rd edition. London: Christopher Helm.
- 2003. Kingfishers (Alcedinidae). Pp. 5-10 in M Hutchins, J Jackson, W Bock, eds. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale Group.
- Fry, C. 2003. Kingfishers. Pp. 366-371 in C Perrins, ed. The New Encyclopedia of Birds. Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press.
- Krueper, D. 2001. Kingfishers. Pp. 370-372 in C Elphick, J Dunning, D Sibley, eds. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
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Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Alcedinidae.html |
Kingfishers sometimes take privately owned fish from fish farms or garden ponds.
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Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Alcedinidae.html |
Kingfishers are collected for sale to tourists, or for their bright plumage, which is used in traditional costumes of some societies.
Positive Impacts: body parts are source of valuable material
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Kingfishers are found in all regions of the world, except in polar regions and on some oceanic islands. The majority of kingfisher species are tropical. Most kingfishers are found the Australasian, African and Oriental regions of the world, with the highest numbers in the Australasian region. Only six species, all in the subfamily Cerylinae, occur in the New World.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native ); ethiopian ; neotropical (Native ); australian (Native ); oceanic islands (Native )
Other Geographic Terms: cosmopolitan
- Fry, C., K. Fry, A. Harris. 1992. Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
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Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Alcedinidae.html |
The river kingfishers or Alcedinidae, are one of the three families of bird in the kingfisher group. The Alcedinidae once included all kingfishers, before the widespread recognition of Halcyonidae (tree-kingfishers) and Cerylidae (water-kingfishers). The family is widespread through Africa, through east and south Asia as far as Australia, with one species, the Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) also appearing in Europe and northern Asia. The origin of the family is thought to have been in Asia.
These are brightly plumaged compact birds with short tails, large heads and long bills. They feed on insects or fish, and lay white eggs in a self-excavated burrow. Both adults incubate the eggs and feed the chicks.
Contents
Taxonomy[edit]
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The river kingfishers family Alcedinidae is one of nine in the order Coraciiformes, which also includes the motmots, bee-eaters, todies, rollers, ground-rollers, Cuckoo Roller and two other families of kingfishers. The rollers do not appear to be particularly closely related to the others groups, and the Coraciiformes are therefore probably polyphyletic. In the past, all kingfishers were placed in the Alcedinidae, but it became clear that the three subfamilies diverged early, and the Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers) and Cerylidae (water kingfishers) are usually now treated as full families, with the Alcedinidae as the basal lineage in the kingfisher clade.[1]
The taxonomy of the family is uncertain at present: it includes 22 to 24 species in two to four genera. The uncertainty arises from two small African species. The African Dwarf Kingfisher is sometimes placed in the monospecific genus Myioceyx, and sometimes with the Pygmy Kingfishers in Ispidina. However, molecular analysis suggests that the Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher is most closely related to the Malachite Kingfisher, and that the present arrangement into Alcedo and Ceyx may need to be reviewed as it seems not to reflect the actual relationships (for example, the Azure Kingfisher is closer to Ceyx erithacus).[2]
Description[edit]
All kingfishers are short-tailed large-headed compact birds with long pointed bills. Like other Coraciiformes, they are brightly coloured. Alcedo species typically have metallic blue upperparts and head, and orange or white underparts. The sexes may be identical, as with Bismarck Kingfisher, but most species show some sexual dimorphism, ranging from a different bill colour as with Common Kingfisher to a completely different appearance. The male Blue-banded Kingfisher has white underparts with a blue breast band, whereas the female has orange underparts.[3]
The small kingfishers that make up the rest of the family have blue or orange upperparts and white or buff underparts, and show little sexual variation.[3] Across the family, the bill colour is linked to diet. The insectivorous species have red bills, and the fish-eaters have black bills.[4]
When perched, kingfishers sit quite upright, and the flight is fast and direct. The call is typically a simple high-pitched squeak, often given in flight.[5]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
Most alcedinids are found in the warm climates of Africa and southern and southeast Asia. Three species reach Australia, but only the Common Kingfisher is found across most of Europe and temperate Asia. No members of this family are found in the Americas, although the American green kingfishers are believed to have derived from alcedinid stock. The origin of the family is thought to have been in southern Asia, which still has the most species.[6]
The Ceyx and Ispidina species are mainly birds of wet rainforest or other woodland, and are not necessarily associated with water. The Alcedo kingfishers are usually closely associated with fresh water, often in open habitats although some are primarily forest birds.[5]
Behaviour[edit]
Breeding[edit]
River kingfishers are monogamous and territorial. The pair excavates a burrow in an earth bank and lays two or more white eggs onto the bare surface. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks.[5] Egg laying is staggered at one-day intervals so that if food is short only the older larger nestlings get fed. The chicks are naked, blind and helpless when they hatch, and stand on their heels, unlike any adult bird.[7]
Feeding[edit]
The small Ceyx and Ispidina species feed mainly on insects and spiders, but also take tadpoles, frogs and mayfly nymphs from puddles. The will flycatch, and their bills are red bills are flattened to assist in the capture of insects. The Alcedo kingfishers are typically fish-eaters with black bills, but will also take aquatic invertebrates, spiders and lizards. A few species are mainly insectivorous and have red bills. Typically fish are caught by a dive into the water from a perch, although the kingfisher might hover briefly.[4]
References[edit]
Cited text[edit]
- Fry, C. Hilary; Fry, Kathie; Harris, Alan (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-8028-8.
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Kingfishers are small to medium sized (10 to 46 cm long, 9 to 490 g) thickset birds with large heads, short necks, short legs, and long, thick bills. They typically have rounded wings and a short tail, though eight species of paradise kingfishers have long tail streamers. Kingfishers have small, weak, 3- or 4-toed feet that are syndactyl, meaning that the front toes are all fused to some degree. The bill and feet of adult kingfishers are black or bright red, orange or yellow, and the eyes are usually dark brown. Kingfishers are generally colorful and boldly marked, often with blues and greens above and a mixture of red, orange and white below. Many species also have a pale collar and several species have a distinctive crest.
The bills of kingfishers are all long and thick, but vary in shape in accordance with the foraging habits of each species. Fly-catching species have dorsoventrally flattened bills, whereas fishing species have laterally flattened bills. Ground-feeding species, including shovel-billed kingfishers (Clytoceyx rex) usually have shorter, quite broad bills.
The sexes of most kingfisher species are similar in size and plumage, though some species show distinct differences. For example, the males of some paradise kingfishers have much longer tail streamers than females. Reversed sexual size dimorphism (females markedly larger than males) is found in the two largest kookaburra species, laughing kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae) and blue-winged kookaburras (Dacelo leachii). Juveniles typically look similar to adults, with somewhat duller plumage and often with mottling where adults have solid coloration.
Like motmots and todies, kingfishers often have brilliant plumage, are largely insectivorous, and nest in cavities that are often excavated in earthen banks. Kingfishers are distinguished by their long, thick, straight beak and plumage that is more often blue than green.
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike; female larger; ornamentation
- Sibley, C., J. Ahlquist. 1990. Phylogeny and Classification of Birds, A study in Molecular Evolution. New Haven: Yale University Press.
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