River kingfisher
| 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 group. The Alcedinidae once included all kingfishers, before the widespread recognition of Halcyoninae (tree kingfishers) and Cerylinae (water kingfishers). The subfamily is 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. The origin of the family 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.
The river kingfishers family Alcedininae is in the order Coraciiformes, which also includes the motmots, bee-eaters, todies, rollers, ground-rollers, and two other subfamilies of kingfishers. The rollers do not appear to be particularly closely related to the others groups, and the Coraciiformes are therefore probably polyphyletic. In the past, all kingfishers were placed in the Alcedinidae, but it became clear that the three subfamilies diverged early.
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Wikipedia