Blyth's Kingfisher

Identificazione

Blyth's kingfisher is between 22 and 23 cm (8+5⁄8 and 9 in) in length, making it the largest of the Alcedo kingfishers. The wing of the male is between 9.6 and 10.2 cm (3+3⁄4 and 4 in) long, and that of the female between 9.5 and 10.3 cm (3+3⁄4 and 4 in). On the male, the feathering on the head is black, with shiny tips of bright blue. It has a neck patch that is whitish or buff in colour, as is the chin. The breast and belly are rufous, except for a dark blackish-blue patch on the breast. The legs and feet of the bird are also red. The bill is entirely black in the male, while the female has a red base to the mandible. The iris of the bird is reddish brown. The lores of the bird are black, and have a buff coloured streak above them. The back of the bird from mantle to the tail coverts is a bright cobalt blue or azure, with a tinge of purple towards the rump and the tail coverts. When the bird is at rest, the upper parts may appear brownish black. The tail itself is a darker ultramarine blue. The wings and the scapular feathers are a dark greenish black. The feathers of the upperwing coverts have cobalt-blue tips, while the underwing coverts are dark rufous-red. The lesser and median coverts have prominent speckles of cobalt. Any distinctive features in the plumage of the juvenile are not known.<p>The species is morphologically similar to the blue-eared kingfisher (Alcedo meninting), but in comparison is substantially larger. Its bill is heavier and longer than that of the blue-eared kingfisher, and is entirely black. Its crown and wings are less brilliant as those of the smaller bird, and it may be distinguished by the speckles of light blue on its crown and wing coverts. The dark ear coverts set it apart from the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), which has rufous ear-coverts. It is similar to the female blue-banded kingfisher (Alcedo euryzona), but the two species do not overlap in their range.<p>The call of the species is described as a loud "pseet", less shrill but louder and more hoarse than that of the common kingfisher, and similar but louder to that of the blue-eared kingfisher. One of the calls made by the slaty-backed forktail (Enicurus schistaceus) is sometimes mistaken for the call of Blyth's kingfisher.

Tassonomia

Blyth's kingfisher was described by the English zoologist and curator at the Asiatic Society of Bengal Edward Blyth in 1845 and given the binomial name Alcedo grandis. Unfortunately, this name was preoccupied as it had already been introduced for another species by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his Systema naturae of 1788. In 1917, the German naturalist Alfred Laubmann proposed the substitute binomial name Alcedo hercules to replace the preoccupied name. Blyth's kingfisher is most closely related to the blue-eared kingfisher (Alcedo meninting). The species is monotypic. It has also been referred to as the great blue kingfisher.

Nome scientifico

Alcedo hercules

Autorità

Laubmann, 1917

Ordine

Coraciformi

Famiglia

Alcedinidae

Genere

Alcedo

Areale e habitat

Blyth's kingfisher frequents small rivers and waterways in evergreen forest, hilly regions, or deep ravines. It is sometimes found near streams near well-wooded farmland. Its elevational range is chiefly between 400 and 1,000 m (1,300 and 3,300 ft) above sea level, extending to a minimum of 200 m (660 ft) and a maximum of 1,200 m (3,900 ft).<p>The density of the species is low across its range. In China, it is known to be found in the Mengyang Nature Reserve in Yunnan, and in the Nonggang National Nature Reserve and Diding Nature Reserve in Guangxi province. It is also known to be present in Hainan. In Vietnam the species is found in Annam and western Tonkin, in which regions it is fairly common. In northern Laos and the Annamite mountains, it may be locally common. It is also found in Myanmar, where its density varies considerably, and is either a visitor or a rare resident in northwestern Thailand. It is rare in Bhutan in northeastern India, and a vagrant in Bangladesh and eastern Nepal. Its range in northeast India includes the eastern Himalayas, up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft).

Migrazione

Specie stanziale

Comportamento

Comportamento migratorio: Specie stanziale.

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione: in diminuzione.

Tendenza della popolazione

in diminuzione