Megaceryle
Kingfishers
Megaceryle is a genus of very large kingfishers. It comprises four species:
- Giant Kingfisher, Megaceryle maxima : The Giant Kingfisher is the largest kingfisher in Africa, where it is a resident breeding bird over most of the continent south of the Sahara Desert other than the arid southwest. There are two subspecies, M. m. maxima, found in open country, and M. m. gigantea in the rainforest. The forest race is darker, less spotted above, and more barred below than maxima, but the two forms intergrade along the forest edge zone. Breeding is from August to January, 3-5 eggs being laid in a riverbank tunnel. Giant Kingfisher is 42-46 cm long, with a large crest and finely spotted white on black upperparts. The male has a chestnut breast band and otherwise white underparts with dark flank barring, and the female has a white-spotted black breast band and chestnut belly. The call is a loud wak wak wak This large species feeds on crabs, fish, and frogs, caught in the typical kingfisher way by a dive from a perch. The number of these birds appears to have declined, possibly as a result of pesticides.
- Crested Kingfisher, Megaceryle lugubris : The Crested Kingfisher is resident of the Himalayas and foothills of North East India, Bangladesh, northern Indochina, and south and east China. It is a very large (41 cm) black and white kingfisher with evenly barred wings and tail. It lacks a supercilium (line above eye) and has a spotted breast, which is sometimes mixed with rufous. This bird is mainly found in mountain rivers and larger rivers in foothills.
- Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon
- Ringed Kingfisher, Megaceryle torquata:
The Ringed Kingfisher is a large, conspicuous and noisy kingfisher, commonly found along the lower Rio Grande River valley in southeasternmost Texas in the United States through Central America to Tierra del Fuego in South America ...Ringed Kingfisher - Ceryle Torquata (USGS - ID Tips)
The breeding habitat is areas near large bodies of water, usually in heavily wooded areas where it finds a perch to hunt from. It is mostly a sedentary species, remaining in territories all year long.
It is 40-41 cm long, with deep blue or bluish-gray plumage with white markings, a shaggy crest and a broad white collar around the neck. Its most distinguishing characteristic is the entire rufous belly, which also covers the entire breast of the male. Females are more colorful than the male, having a bluish-gray breast, and a narrow white stripe seperating the breast from the belly.
These birds nest in a horizontal tunnel made in a river bank or sand bank. The female lays 3 to 6 eggs. Both parents excavate the tunnel, incubate the eggs and feed the young.
It is often seen perched prominently on trees, posts, or other suitable watchpoints close to water before plunging in head first after its fish prey. They also eat small crustaceans, frogs, aquatic insects, small mammals, lizards and berries.
Their voice is a loud, penetrating rattle given on the wing and when perched.
The Megaceryle kingfishers were formerly placed in Ceryle with the Pied Kingfisher, but the latter is genetically closer to the American green kingfishers.
All are specialist fish-eaters with prominent stiff crests on their heads. They have dark grey or bluish-grey upperparts, largely unmarked in the two American species, but heavily spotted with white in the Asian Crested Kingfisher and the African Giant Kingfisher. The underparts may be white or rufous, and all forms have a contrasting breast band except male Ringed Kingfisher. The underpart pattern is always different for the two sexes of each species.
These birds nest in horizontal tunnels made in a river bank or sand bank. Both parents excavate the tunnel, incubate the eggs and feed the young.
Megaceryle kingfishers are often seen perched prominently on trees, posts, or other suitable watch-points close to water before plunging in head first after their prey, usually fish crustaceans or frogs, but sometimes aquatic insects and other suitably sized animals.
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