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Halcyon (genus)
Encyclopedia
Halcyon is a genus of the tree kingfisher
s, near passerine
bird
s in the family
Halcyonidae.
The following is the list of species:
However, other sources, including Fry & Fry, lump the genera Pelargopsis
, Syma
and Todirhamphus into Halcyon to make a much larger grouping.
The genus
Halcyon in the current sense consists mainly of species resident in sub-Saharan Africa
, with a couple of representatives in southern Asia
, one of which, the White-throated Kingfisher
, occasionally reaches Europe
. White-throated and Ruddy Kingfisher
s are at least partially migratory
.
Halcyon kingfisher
s are mostly large birds with heavy bills. They occur in a variety of habitats, with woodland of various types the preferred environment for most. They are “sit and wait” predators of small ground animals including large insect
s, rodent
s, snake
s, and frog
s, but some will also take fish
.
"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.
Tree kingfisher
The tree kingfishers or wood kingfishers, family Halcyonidae, are the most numerous of the three families of birds in the kingfisher group, with between 56 and 61 species in around 12 genera, including several species of kookaburras. The family appears to have arisen in Indochina and the Maritime...
s, near passerine
Near passerine
Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Halcyonidae.
The following is the list of species:
- Ruddy KingfisherRuddy KingfisherThe Ruddy Kingfisher is a medium-sized tree kingfisher which is widely distributed in east and southeast Asia, ranging from South Korea and Japan in the north, south through the Philippines to the Sunda Islands, and west to China and India. It is migratory, with birds in the northern part of the...
, Halcyon coromanda - Chocolate-backed KingfisherChocolate-backed KingfisherThe Chocolate-backed Kingfisher is a species of bird in the Halcyonidae family.It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and...
, Halcyon badia - White-throated KingfisherWhite-throated KingfisherThe White-throated Kingfisher also known as the White-breasted Kingfisher or Smyrna Kingfisher, is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Eurasia from Bulgaria, Turkey, east through South Asia to the Philippines. This kingfisher is a resident over much of its range, although some populations...
, Halcyon smyrnensis - Grey-headed KingfisherGrey-headed KingfisherThe Grey-headed Kingfisher has a wide distribution from the Cape Verde Islands off the north-west coast of Africa to Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, east to Ethiopia, Somalia and southern Arabia and south to South Africa....
, Halcyon leucocephala - Black-capped KingfisherBlack-capped KingfisherThe Black-capped Kingfisher, Halcyon pileata, is a tree kingfisher which is widely distributed in tropical Asia from India east to China, Korea and Southeast Asia...
, Halcyon pileata - Javan KingfisherJavan KingfisherThe Javan Kingfisher is a species of bird in the Halcyonidae family.It is endemic to Indonesia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.-References:...
, Halcyon cyanoventris - Woodland KingfisherWoodland KingfisherThe Woodland Kingfisher is a tree kingfisher.-Description:This is a medium-sized kingfisher, 20–23 cm in length. The adult has a bright blue back, wing panel and tail. Its head, neck and underparts are white, and its shoulders are black. The flight of the Woodland Kingfisher is rapid and direct...
, Halcyon senegalensis - Mangrove KingfisherMangrove KingfisherThe Mangrove Kingfisher is a kingfisher in the genus Halcyon. It has a large global range and is not threatened....
, Halcyon senegaloides - Blue-breasted KingfisherBlue-breasted KingfisherThe Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Halcyon malimbica, is a tree kingfisher which is widely distributed in tropical west Africa. This kingfisher is essentially resident, but retreats from drier savanna areas to wetter habitats in the dry season....
, Halcyon malimbica - Brown-hooded KingfisherBrown-hooded KingfisherThe Brown-hooded Kingfisher is a species of bird in the Halcyonidae family.It is found in Angola, Botswana, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.-References:* BirdLife...
, Halcyon albiventris - Striped KingfisherStriped KingfisherThe Striped Kingfisher is a species of bird in the tree kingfisher family. It was first described by Edward, Lord Stanley, in Salt's Voyage to Abyssinia in 1814 as "Chelicut Kingfisher" Alaudo Chelicuti....
, Halcyon chelicuti
However, other sources, including Fry & Fry, lump the genera Pelargopsis
Pelargopsis
Pelargopsis is a genus of tree kingfishers which are resident in tropical south Asia from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia. The species in taxonomic order are:* Brown-winged Kingfisher, Pelargopsis amauropterus...
, Syma
Syma
Syma is a genus of bird in the Alcedinidae family. It contains the following species:* Mountain Kingfisher * Yellow-billed Kingfisher...
and Todirhamphus into Halcyon to make a much larger grouping.
The genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Halcyon in the current sense consists mainly of species resident in sub-Saharan Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, with a couple of representatives in southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, one of which, the White-throated Kingfisher
White-throated Kingfisher
The White-throated Kingfisher also known as the White-breasted Kingfisher or Smyrna Kingfisher, is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Eurasia from Bulgaria, Turkey, east through South Asia to the Philippines. This kingfisher is a resident over much of its range, although some populations...
, occasionally reaches Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. White-throated and Ruddy Kingfisher
Ruddy Kingfisher
The Ruddy Kingfisher is a medium-sized tree kingfisher which is widely distributed in east and southeast Asia, ranging from South Korea and Japan in the north, south through the Philippines to the Sunda Islands, and west to China and India. It is migratory, with birds in the northern part of the...
s are at least partially migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
.
Halcyon kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
s are mostly large birds with heavy bills. They occur in a variety of habitats, with woodland of various types the preferred environment for most. They are “sit and wait” predators of small ground animals including large insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s, snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, and frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, but some will also take fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
.
"Halcyon" is a name for a bird in Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
legend generally associated with the kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
. 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.