Ispidina

Ispidina is a genus of small insectivorous African river kingfishers.

Ispidina
African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Subfamily: Alcedininae
Genus: Ispidina
Kaup, 1848
Species

see text

The genus was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848 with the African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta) as the type species.[1][2] The genus is the sister group to the genus Corythornis containing four small African kingfishers.[3]

The two species in the genus are:[4]

These similar small kingfishers can be distinguished by the blue crown of the African pigmy kingfisher. They have different habit preferences and have mostly non-overlapping ranges. The slightly smaller African dwarf kingfisher occurs in tropical rainforests while the African pygmy kingfisher occurs in dry grassy woodland.[5]

References

  1. Kaup, Johann Jakob (1848). "Die Familie der Eisvögel (Alcedidae)". Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins für das Großherzogthum Hessen und Umgebung (in German). 2: 71–72. OCLC 183221382.
  2. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 177.
  3. Andersen, M.J.; McCullough, J.M.; Mauck III, W.M.; Smith, B.T.; Moyle, R.G. (2017). "A phylogeny of kingfishers reveals an Indomalayan origin and elevated rates of diversification on oceanic islands". Journal of Biogeography. 44 (2): 269–281. doi:10.1111/jbi.13139.
  4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2016). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 6.3. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  5. Fry, C. Hilary; Fry, Kathie; Harris, Alan (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, and Rollers. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 195–198. ISBN 978-0-7136-8028-7.
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