Tree kingfisher
The tree kingfishers, also called wood kingfishers or Halcyoninae, are the most numerous of the three subfamilies of birds in the kingfisher family, with around 70 species divided into 12 genera, including several species of kookaburras. The subfamily appears to have arisen in Indochina and Maritime Southeast Asia and then spread to many areas around the world. Tree kingfishers are widespread through Asia and Australasia, but also appear in Africa and the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, using a range of habitats from tropical rainforest to open woodlands.
| Tree kingfisher | |
|---|---|
| Woodland kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Alcedinidae |
| Subfamily: | Halcyoninae Vigors, 1825 |
| Genera | |
| Phylogeny of Halcyoninae | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Cladogram based on the molecular analysis by Andersen and colleagues published in 2017. Dacelo and Actenoides are paraphyletic. The shovel-billed kookaburra in the monotypic genus Clytoceyx sits within Dacelo; the glittering kingfisher in the monotypic genus Caridonax is within Actenoides. |
The tree kingfishers are short-tailed, large-headed, compact birds with long, pointed bills. Like other Coraciiformes, they are brightly coloured. Most are monogamous and territorial, nesting in holes in trees or termite nests. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. Although some tree kingfishers frequent wetlands, none are specialist fish-eaters. Most species dive onto prey from a perch, mainly taking slow-moving invertebrates or small vertebrates.