Gray-headed Kingfisher
Halcyon leucocephala
A medium-sized kingfisher with a distinctive chestnut belly, sapphire blue tail and flight feathers, ashy-gray head and breast, and vermillion bill. Pairs inhabit dry and moist woodland, especially riverine woodland; has been known to breed in riverbanks. It has complex movements and is a migrant in the southern part of its range. Calls a strident trilling “t-t-t-t-t-t-t”, although this can be weaker and less obtrusive than other kingfishers; also calls a repeated, squeaky “tsury, tsury”.
识别特征
The sexes are similar. The adult of the nominate race H. l. leucocephala has a pale grey head, black mantle and back, bright blue rump, wings and tail, and chestnut underparts. Subspecies H. l. pallidiventris has a darker grey head and paler chestnut underparts but is otherwise similar. The beak is long, red and sharp. This bird grows to an average length of 21 cm (8.3 in). The song is a succession of notes, ascending, descending and then ascending again, becoming increasingly strident. The warning call is a series of sharp notes, "tchk, tchk, tchk, tchk".
分类信息
The first formal description of the grey-headed kingfisher was by the German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller in 1776. He coined the binomial name Alcedo leucocephala. The current genus Halcyon was introduced by the English naturalist and artist William John Swainson in 1821. The name of the genus is from the classical Greek alkuōn, a mythical bird, generally associated with the kingfisher. The specific epithet leucocephala is from the classical Greek leukos meaning "white" and -kephalos for "-headed".<p>Five subspecies are recognised:
- 学名
- Halcyon leucocephala
- 命名信息
- (Müller, PLS, 1776)
- 目
- Coraciiformes
- 科
- Alcedinidae
- 属
- Halcyon
分布与栖息地
The grey-headed kingfisher is found in tropical and semi-tropical Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Its range includes Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its typical habitat is woodland, scrub and cultivated areas, up to altitudes of about 2,200 m (7,200 ft).
- 迁徙
- Complete migrants
行为
A dry-country kingfisher of scrub and woodland, solitary or in pairs, often found near water, but unlike most kingfishers is not aquatic. Perches on a branch, unmoving for long periods while watching the ground for signs of insects or small lizards, bobbing head before diving on prey. In appearance very like the brown-hooded kingfisher but with a red rather than red and black bill and similar to the woodland kingfisher, but the woodland kingfisher lacks the chestnut belly and has greater coverage of cyan feathers on the back. Nests in holes in steep riverbanks and is aggressively protective of its nest by repeated dive-bombing of foraging monitor lizards. It is parasitised by the greater honeyguide. This species migrates at night and is often killed by flying into obstacles such as buildings, towers and powerlines.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Fly River Grassbird
Poodytes albolimbatus
A fairly small bird of marshes in the Trans-Fly of New Guinea. Best seen by boat. Rufous crown, rump and upper tail, whitish underparts with buffy flanks, heavily streaked orange-brown back and black wing feathers edged with white. Inquisitive and often keeps its tail cocked and wings drooped. Similar to Tawny and Little Grassbirds, but Fly River has an unstreaked, rufous crown, and is smaller than Tawny. Voice, a monotone whistle and a harsh “chat!”.
Sooty Antbird
Hafferia fortis
Large, chunky antbird. Male is uniformly sooty black with pale blue skin around the eye. Female is warm dark brown above and gray below, and also has blue skin around the eye. Occurs in pairs in the understory of mature lowland forest in the Amazon basin, east of the Andes. Can be seen in the vicinity of army ant swarms. Look for the tail being pumped down and raised slowly up.
Seychelles Fody
Foudia sechellarum
An unusual drab, long-billed fody. Breeding males have yellow patches on the face. Females and non-breeding males are very drab and sparrow-like. An uncommon Seychelles endemic that is now restricted to a few islands. Found in woodland, scrub, and plantations, often in small groups. Females and non-breeding males similar to Red Fody, but Seychelles Fody is darker and has a longer, slimmer, slightly curved bill. Calls include high, silvery notes and lower-pitched “vet” notes. Both are sometimes given in a series.
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