Alcedininae
| River kingfishers | |
|---|---|
_Photograph_By_Shantanu_Kuveskar,_Mangaon,_Maharashtra,_India.jpg) |
|
| Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Alcedinidae |
| Subfamily: | Alcedininae |
| Genera | |
The river kingfishers or Alcedininae, are one of the three subfamilies of birds in the kingfisher family. 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. This group includes many kingfishers that actually dive for fish. The origin of the subfamily is thought to have been in Asia.
These are brightly plumaged, compact birds with short tails, large heads, and long bills. They feed on insects or fish, and lay white eggs in a self-excavated burrow. Both adults incubate the eggs and feed the chicks.
A molecular phylogenetic study of the river kingfishers published in 2007 found that the genera as then defined did not form monophyletic groups. The species were subsequently rearranged into four monophyletic genera. A clade containing four species were placed in the resurrected genus Corythornis and five species (little kingfisher, azure kingfisher, Bismarck kingfisher, silvery kingfisher and indigo-banded kingfisher) were moved from Alcedo to Ceyx.
All except one of the kingfishers in the reconstituted Ceyx have three rather than the usual four toes. The exception is the Sulawesi dwarf kingfisher which retains a vestigial fourth toe.
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Wikipedia