|
The European Kingfisher or Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, is widely distributed in Europe, Africa, and Asia. It is resident except in northern areas where the rivers freeze. It will then move to milder regions. In most of its European range it is the only kingfisher. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive. ...
European Kingfisher; from the Dutch wikipedia; photographed by Geert Overmars File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ...
Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Myxozoa (slime animals) Superphylum Deuterostomia (blastopore becomes anus) Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ...
{{{subdivision_ranks}}} See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ...
Orders Many - see section below. ...
Families Alcedinidae Halcyonidae Cerylidae Brachypteraciidae Coraciidae Leptosomidae Meropidae Momotidae Todidae Bucerotidae Upupidae Phoeniculidae The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colourful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills. ...
Genera Alcedo Ceyx Ispidina The river kingfishers or Alcedinidae, are one of the three families of bird in the kingfisher group. ...
In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ...
Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ...
World map showing Europe Political map (neighbouring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ...
A world map showing the continent of Africa. ...
World map showing the location of Asia. ...
Families Alcedinidae Halcyonidae Cerylidae Kingfishers are birds of the three families Alcedinidae (river kingfishers), Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers), and Cerylidae (water kingfishers). ...
The general colour of the upper parts of the adult bird is bright metallic blue, cobalt on the back, and showing greenish reflections on the head and wings. The ear coverts and under parts are warm chestnut, the chin and sides of neck white. Orders Many - see section below. ...
The bill is blackish and reddish orange at the base; the legs are bright red with a dark blue stripe. In the young the bill is black. Length averages 19 cm (7.5 inches) and wings average 7.5 cm (2.95 inches).
The flight of the Kingfisher is rapid, the short rounded wings whirring until they appear a mere blur. It usually flies near the water, but during courtship the male chases the female through and over the trees with loud shrill whistles.
From February onwards the male has a trilling song, a modulated repetition of many whistles. He also signals with a whistle to the female when he is feeding her, this being his share of the nesting duties. This whistle is produced even when his bill is loaded with food, yet is clear and distinct. The female will reply and emerge from the nesting hole, and may fly to meet him, take the fish from him in the air, and return to the nest.
The bird has regular perches or stands from which it fishes. These may be a few inches or many feet above the water. It sits upright, its tail pointed downwards. It drops suddenly with a splash and usually returns at once with a struggling captive.
Large fish are beaten on a bough or rail; small fish and insects are promptly swallowed. A fish is usually lifted and carried by its middle, but its position is changed, sometimes by tossing it into the air, before it is swallowed head downwards. The Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. ...
The Kingfisher sometimes hovers over the water, with body held almost vertical, the tail and head bent slightly forward and the bill inclined downward.
It is a bird of the waterside, since it feeds entirely upon aquatic animals. It is frequent beside lakes, ponds, canals or dykes and streams.
In winter, especially when inland waters are icebound, it may move to tidal marshes and the shore, taking its stand on the mussel or limpet covered rocks and diving into the shallow pools. Subclasses Pteriomorpha (marine mussels) Palaeoheterodonta (freshwater mussels) Heterodonta (zebra mussels) The term mussel is used for several families of bivalve mollusks inhabiting lakes, rivers, and creeks, as well as intertidal areas along coastlines worldwide. ...
Genera Acmaea Bathyacmaea Lottia Notoacmea Pectinodonta Problacmaea Limpets are marine mollusks in the family Acmaeidae with flattened, cone-shaped shells. ...
Fish, aquatic insects and crustaceans are eaten. It eats numerous freshwater shrimps Gammarus. Classes & Subclasses Branchiopoda Phyllopoda Sarsostraca Remipedia Cephalocarida Maxillopoda Thecostraca Tantulocarida Branchiura Pentastomida Mystacocarida Copepoda Ostracoda Myodocopa Podocopa Malacostraca Phyllocarida Hoplocarida Eumalacostraca The crustaceans (Crustacea) are a large group of arthropods (55,000 species), usually treated as a subphylum [1]. They include organisms such as lobsters, crabs, shrimp and barnacles. ...
The nest is a tunnel in a sandy bank, usually, though not always over water. Both birds excavate, except when an old hole of a Sand Martin or Water Vole is appropriated. Most incline upward for about three feet before the nesting chamber is reached. Binomial name Riparia riparia (Linnaeus, 1758) The Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. ...
Binomial name Arvicola terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) // Description The Water Vole (Arvicola terrestris) is a semi-aquatic mammal that resembles a rat. ...
There is no nest, but the six to seven or even more round white eggs are placed on a litter of fish bones and disgorged pellets. The eggs are pink. The first clutch is usually laid in April, but second broods are often in the nest at the end of July, and an exceptional case of young in early October is recorded.
The young come to the mouth of the hole to be fed when old enough. They are at first without down and clothed with numerous small blue feathers. Their bills are steel-blue and their feet lighter colored than adults. When they leave the nest they differ little from their parents, except that the colours are duller, the spot on the neck is buff, and the grey margins to the breast feathers give a mottled appearance. Their call is then an insistent, continuous trill.
Gallery
Crested Kingfisher File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (862x566, 98 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: European Kingfisher ...
Image File history File links Alcedo_atthis_2_(Marek_Szczepanek). ...
Image File history File links Alcedo_atthis_3_(Marek_Szczepanek). ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (863x648, 87 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): European Kingfisher ...
References - BirdLife International (2004). Alcedo atthis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. ...
The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...
External links |
Feeds |
Contact