Halcyon (genus)

Halcyon (/ˈhælsiən/) is a genus of the tree kingfishers, near passerine birds in the subfamily Halcyoninae.

Halcyon
Woodland kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Subfamily: Halcyoninae
Genus: Halcyon
Swainson, 1821
Species

See text

Taxonomy

The genus Halcyon was introduced by the English naturalist and artist William John Swainson in 1821. He named the type species as the woodland kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis).[1]

"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.[2]

The genus contains 11 species:[3]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Halcyon coromandaRuddy kingfishereast and southeast Asia.
Halcyon smyrnensisWhite-throated kingfisherfrom the Sinai east through the Indian subcontinent to the Philippines.
Halcyon cyanoventrisJavan kingfisherJava and Bali
Halcyon badiaChocolate-backed kingfisherwestern Sub-Saharan Africa.
Halcyon pileataBlack-capped kingfisherIndia east to China, Korea and Southeast Asia
Halcyon leucocephalaGrey-headed kingfisherCape 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 albiventrisBrown-hooded kingfisherSub-Saharan Africa
Halcyon chelicutiStriped kingfisherSub-Saharan Africa
Halcyon malimbicaBlue-breasted kingfisherEquatorial Africa
Halcyon senegalensisWoodland kingfisherAfrica south of the Sahara.
Halcyon senegaloidesMangrove kingfisherSomalia, south through Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique, to South Africa

    However, other sources, including Fry & Fry, lump the genera Pelargopsis, Syma and Todirhamphus into Halcyon to make a much larger grouping.

    Geographic distribution

    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 kingfishers are at least partially migratory.

    Habitat

    Halcyon kingfishers 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 insects, rodents, snakes, and frogs, but some will also take fish.

    References
    1. Swainson, William John (1821). Zoological illustrations. Volume 1. London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy; and W. Wood. Plate 27 text.
    2. "Halcyon days". The Phrase finder. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
    3. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 7.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 May 2017.

    Sources
    • Fry, K & Fry, H.C. (2000): Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. ISBN 0-691-08780-6.
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