Striped Kingfisher
Encyclopedia
The Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti) 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.
The genus name Halcyon comes from a bird in Greek
legend generally associated with the kingfisher
. There was an ancient belief that the halcyon nested on the sea, which it calmed in order to lay its eggs on a floating nest. The species' name chelicuti derives from Chelicut in Ethiopia
, the location at which Stanley's type specimen was obtained.
This is a highly territorial bird which will chase off not only others of the same species, but also shrike
s, doves and roller
s. The territory may be up to three hectares (7.4 acres) in size, and hold 100 tall trees. It is surveyed from a treetop by its owner, who sings from before dawn intermittently until after midday.
except in dense forests (especially near the Congo River
), the northeast, and the region south of northwestern Namibia
and northeastern South Africa
. It prefers woodland, thorn scrub (thornveld), dry bush, and open savanna, but avoids intensively farmed land.
There are two subspecies: H. c. chelicuti in most of the range, and H. c. eremogiton (Hartert
, 1921) in the northern desert parts of the range from central Mali
to the White Nile
region of eastern Sudan
. They hybridize in southern Mali.
The juvenile resembles the adult but is paler. It has less blue on the wings, a darker crown, dusky tips to the breast feathers, and dull red on the lower mandible.
The call is distinctive, "a high-pitched, piercing 'cheer-cherrrrrr'" or a far-carrying "KEW, kerrrrrrrrr" in which the rs represent a repeated descending trill lower in pitch than the first note. It is often given at dusk in a display where the bird opens its wings.
The northern subspecies H. c. eremogiton has a grey-brown crown and mantle and almost unstreaked underparts.
s followed by other large insects. Small lizards, snakes and rodents are occasionally taken. It hunts from a perch about 3 metres (10 ft) high swooping to the ground for prey up to ten times a minute. Food items are taken back to the perch and swallowed, large prey being beaten vigorously first.
Grasshoppers taken to the nest to feed the young are presented to the chicks head-first, in much the same way that aquatic kingfishers deliver fish to their offspring.
The female lays eggs in a disused woodpecker
or barbet
hole. Both sexes incubate during the day, but only the female at night. The male feeds the female, but holds the prey items while the female tears off pieces. Lesser Honeyguide
s and Greater Honeyguide
s parasitise up to a quarter of nests.
This species is usually monogamous, but polyandry has been recorded. The Striped Kingfisher is normally double-brooded.
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...
in the tree kingfisher
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...
family. It was first described by Edward, Lord Stanley
Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby
Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby KG , styled Lord Stanley from 1776 to 1832 and known as The Lord Stanley from 1832 to 1834, was an English politician, landowner, builder, farmer, art collector and naturalist...
, in Salt's Voyage to Abyssinia in 1814 as "Chelicut Kingfisher" Alaudo Chelicuti.
The genus name Halcyon comes from 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 halcyon nested on the sea, which it calmed in order to lay its eggs on a floating nest. The species' name chelicuti derives from Chelicut in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, the location at which Stanley's type specimen was obtained.
This is a highly territorial bird which will chase off not only others of the same species, but also shrike
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
s, doves and roller
Roller
The rollers are an Old World family, Coraciidae, of near passerine birds. The group gets its name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colourful appearance of kingfishers and...
s. The territory may be up to three hectares (7.4 acres) in size, and hold 100 tall trees. It is surveyed from a treetop by its owner, who sings from before dawn intermittently until after midday.
Range and habitat
This species occurs in sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
except in dense forests (especially near the Congo River
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
), the northeast, and the region south of northwestern Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
and northeastern South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It prefers woodland, thorn scrub (thornveld), dry bush, and open savanna, but avoids intensively farmed land.
There are two subspecies: H. c. chelicuti in most of the range, and H. c. eremogiton (Hartert
Ernst Hartert
Ernst Johann Otto Hartert was a German ornithologist. Hartert was born in Hamburg. He was employed by Lionel Walter Rothschild as ornithological curator of his private museum at Tring from 1892 to 1929....
, 1921) in the northern desert parts of the range from central Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
to the White Nile
White Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...
region of eastern Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
. They hybridize in southern Mali.
Description
The Striped Kingfisher of the nominate subspecies H. c. chelicuti averages 16 to 18 cm (about 6.5 in) from beak to tail. Perched adults look mostly greyish brown on the upper part of the body. The lower back, secondary flight feathers, and tail are metallic blue; this colour is much more visible when the bird flies than when it is perched, as is a white patch at the base of the primary flight feathers. The wing linings are white with a black border, and in males a black bar at the base of the primaries. The underparts are off-white, buffier on the breast, with brown streaks on the sides in Kenyan birds and also on the breast in southern African birds. Also streaked dark brown is the top of the head, with the background buffy grey in males and brownish in females. The sides of the head, throat, and a collar around the back of the neck continue the off-white of the underparts. A black line goes around the back of the neck, above the white collar, and through the eyes. The bill is blackish above and at the tip, otherwise reddish-orange below.The juvenile resembles the adult but is paler. It has less blue on the wings, a darker crown, dusky tips to the breast feathers, and dull red on the lower mandible.
The call is distinctive, "a high-pitched, piercing 'cheer-cherrrrrr'" or a far-carrying "KEW, kerrrrrrrrr" in which the rs represent a repeated descending trill lower in pitch than the first note. It is often given at dusk in a display where the bird opens its wings.
The northern subspecies H. c. eremogiton has a grey-brown crown and mantle and almost unstreaked underparts.
Food
The Striped Kingfisher eats mostly grasshopperGrasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s followed by other large insects. Small lizards, snakes and rodents are occasionally taken. It hunts from a perch about 3 metres (10 ft) high swooping to the ground for prey up to ten times a minute. Food items are taken back to the perch and swallowed, large prey being beaten vigorously first.
Grasshoppers taken to the nest to feed the young are presented to the chicks head-first, in much the same way that aquatic kingfishers deliver fish to their offspring.
Reproduction
A mated pair of Striped Kingfishers display by sitting facing each other in a treetop with tail cocked. The wings are flicked open and shut as the birds sing. the pee-hee song soon becomes a sequence of short trills and pauses.The female lays eggs in a disused woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
or barbet
Barbet
American barbets, family Capitonidae, are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes which inhabit humid forests in Central and South America. They are closely related to the toucans....
hole. Both sexes incubate during the day, but only the female at night. The male feeds the female, but holds the prey items while the female tears off pieces. Lesser Honeyguide
Lesser Honeyguide
The Lesser Honeyguide is a species of bird in the Indicatoridae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia,...
s and Greater Honeyguide
Greater Honeyguide
The Greater Honeyguide is a bird in the family Indicatoridae, paleotropical near passerine birds related to the woodpeckers. Its English and scientific names refer to its habit of guiding people to bee colonies....
s parasitise up to a quarter of nests.
This species is usually monogamous, but polyandry has been recorded. The Striped Kingfisher is normally double-brooded.