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The common kingfisher was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Gracula atthis. [2] [3] [4] The modern binomial name derives from the Latin alcedo, 'kingfisher' (from Greek ἀλκυών, halcyon), and Atthis, a beautiful young woman of Lesbos, and favourite of Sappho.
The largest kingfisher in Africa is the giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima), which is 42 to 46 cm (17 to 18 in) in length and 255–426 g (9.0–15.0 oz) in weight. [17] The common Australian kingfisher, known as the laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), is the heaviest species, with females reaching nearly 500 g (18 oz) in weight. [18]
Except for the cerulean kingfisher they all have some rufous in their plumage. The female generally has more red on the lower mandible than the male. [ 7 ] The smallest species is the cerulean kingfisher which is around 13 cm (5.1 in) in length; [ 8 ] much the largest is Blyth's kingfisher with a length of 22 cm (8.7 in).
The belted kingfisher is a stocky, medium-sized bird that measures between 28–35 cm (11–14 in) in length with a wingspan of between 48–58 cm (19–23 in). This kingfisher can weigh from 113 to 178 g (4.0 to 6.3 oz). [6] [7] The adult female averages slightly larger than the adult male. This species has a large head with a shaggy crest ...
The river kingfishers or pygmy kingfishers, subfamily Alcedininae, are one of the three subfamilies of kingfishers.The river kingfishers are widespread through Africa and east and south Asia as far as Australia, with one species, the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) also appearing in Europe and northern Asia.
Brown-winged kingfisher, Sundarbans, West Bengal, India. The tree kingfishers, also called wood kingfishers or Halcyoninae, are the most numerous of the three subfamilies of birds in the kingfisher family, with around 70 species divided into 12 genera, including several species of kookaburras.
They have dark grey or bluish-grey upperparts, largely unmarked in the two American species, but heavily spotted with white in the Asian crested kingfisher and the African giant kingfisher. The underparts may be white or rufous, and all forms have a contrasting breast band except male ringed kingfisher.
The Pacific kingfisher was formerly considered as a subspecies of the collared kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris). A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2015 found that T. chloris was paraphyletic. [9] In the changes to create monophyletic species, T. sacer was promoted to species status and many of the T. chloris subspecies were moved to T ...