Ispidina is a genus of small insectivorous African river kingfishers.
| Ispidina | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
| |
| African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta) | |
| |
| African dwarf kingfisher (Ispidina lecontei) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Alcedinidae |
| Subfamily: | Alcedininae |
| Genus: | Ispidina Kaup, 1848 |
| Type species | |
| Todus pictus[1] Boddaert, 1783
| |
| Species | |
|
see text | |
| |
| African pygmy kingfisher range
Extant (resident)
Extant (breeding)
| |
| |
| African dwarf kingfisher range | |
The genus was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848 with the African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta) as the type species.[2][3] The genus is the sister group to the genus Corythornis containing four small African kingfishers.[4]
Species
editThe two species in the genus are:[5]
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| African pygmy kingfisher
|
Ispidina picta (Boddaert, 1783) |
Africa south of the Sahara | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| African dwarf kingfisher
|
Ispidina lecontei Cassin, 1856 |
Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Uganda.
|
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
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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.[6]
References
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ispidina.
- ^ "Alcedinidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 177.
- ^ 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. S2CID 90416559.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2016). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 6.3. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^ 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.