Pygmy kingfisher
| African pygmy kingfisher | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Alcedinidae |
| Subfamily: | Alcedininae |
| Genus: | Ispidina |
| Species: | I. picta |
| Binomial name | |
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Ispidina picta (Boddaert, 1783) |
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| Subspecies | |
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I. p. picta |
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| Synonyms | |
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Ceyx pictus |
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I. p. picta
I. p. ferruginea
I. p. natalensis
Ceyx pictus
The African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta) is a small insectivorous kingfisher found in the Afrotropics, mostly in woodland habitats.
A description of the African pygmy kingfisher without a scientific name was published in 1780 by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. The binomial name Todus pictus was coined by the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert in 1783. The genus Ispidina was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848. The specific epithet picta is from the Latin pictus meaning "painted". Some texts refer to this species as Ceyx pictus.
There are three subspecies:
The African pygmy kingfisher is 12 cm (4.7 in) in length. The sexes are alike. It is very small kingfisher with rufous underparts and a blue back extending down to the tail. The dark blue crown of the adult separates it from the African dwarf kingfisher. The smaller size and violet wash on the ear coverts distinguish it from the similar malachite kingfisher.
The natalensis subspecies occurring in the south of the range has paler underparts and a blue spot above the white ear patch. Juveniles have less extensive violet on their ear coverts and a black rather than orange bill. The call is a high-pitched insect-like "tsip-tsip" given in flight.
The African pygmy kingfisher is distributed widely in Africa south of the Sahara, where it is a common resident and intra-African migrant. It is absent from much of the horn of Africa, and also the drier western regions of Southern Africa. It is found in woodland, savanna and coastal forest, it is not bound to water. It is usually found either singly or in pairs and is secretive and unobtrusive.
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Wikipedia