Friday 15 March 2019

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Ceryle (a bird mentioned by Aristotle) rudis ("rude")
Three Pied Kingfisher - one male, two female (subspecies C. r. leucomelanaurus) at Florican Grasslands - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Ceryle rudis leucomelanurus
Weight: 84g  /  Length: 25cm  /  Wingspan: 45-47cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Pied Kingfisher is a fairly large and widely distributed member of the family, found across Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.  Really, any new Kingfisher species is always a treat, but I felt particularly pleased with our sightings of this bird - right at the beginning of the day, a single bird hovering for food near where we had stopped was quickly supplanted by a whole family of these striking birds, first on a gatepost, then on the opposite bank.

Related Species:
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Genus Ceryle
SUBSPECIES: C. r. rudis, C. r. leucomelanurus, C. r. travancoreensis, C. r. insignis

 - Sighting Locations -
CAMBODIA Khmer: កដបខ្មៅ-ស ("black bottle")  
A locally reasonably common resident
 - Seen in reasonable numbers at the Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

No comments:

Post a Comment