Kingfisher

Kingfisher, common name for any member of a family of birds having large heads, often crested. Their bodies are short and plump, and their legs and feet are small. Most have short tails, except for the beautiful paradise kingfishers of Australia and New Guinea. The bills of kingfishers are variable, depending on their food. Not all kingfishers feed on fish; a large number of forest-inhabiting species eat nonaquatic invertebrates and small vertebrates. Kingfishers are found in temperate and tropical areas throughout the world, and are especially abundant in the islands of the Pacific Ocean. They nest in tunnels in earth banks and lay pure white eggs.

Kingfishers range in size from the tiny African dwarf kingfisher, 10 cm (4 in) long, to the laughing kookaburra of Australia, 46 cm (18 in) long. Only six species inhabit the Americas. The best known is the belted kingfisher, which breeds from Alaska to Florida, with some individuals moving south for the winter as far as northern South America. It is blue-gray above and white below, with a shaggy crest. Males have a blue-gray "belt" across the breast; females have a rusty band below the blue-gray one. The length of the belted kingfisher is 33 cm (13 in). A similar but larger species, the ringed kingfisher, is 41 cm (16 in). It is tropical, occurring as far north as south Texas. The other four species that inhabit the Americas, in graduated sizes from 13 to 27 cm (5 to 11.5 in), are all tropical and have dark green backs.

Scientific classification: Kingfishers make up the family Alcedinidae in the order Coraciiformes. The African dwarf kingfisher is classified as Corythornus lecontei (several other genera have been applied to this species), the laughing kookaburra as Dacelo novaeguineae, the belted kingfisher as Ceryle alcyon, and the ringed kingfisher as Ceryle torquata. The other four species inhabiting the Americas are classified in the genus Chloroceryle.

_____________

Visit all our informational websites: exZOOberance, Art of Leadership, Pictures from Turkey,
Get Free Photos, about Pedigree Dogs and about Pedigree Cats

Feedback