Small Blue Kingfisher

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Small Blue Kingfisher
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Genus: Alcedo
Species: A. coerulescens
Binomial name
Alcedo coerulescens
(Vieillot, 1818)

The Small Blue Kingfisher (Alcedo coerulescens) is a near passerine bird in the kingfisher (Alcedo) genus which is found in Indonesia[2]. With an overall metallic blue impression, it is very similar to the Common Kingfisher, but it is white underneath instead of orange. It is also known as Cerulean Kingfisher [3]

[edit] Other usage

In India and some other regions, Small Blue Kingfisher is the traditional name for Alcedo atthis (Common Kingfisher); this is due to differences in views on bird taxonomy. Before the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy debates, the bible of Indian birdwatching, the Salim Ali-S. Dillon Ripley Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan[4]. lists Alcedo Atthis as the Small Blue Kingfisher, with three subspecies:

  • Bird number 722: Alcedo atthis pallasii (Reichenbach 1851)
  • Bird number 723: Alcedo atthis benghalensis (Gmelin 1788)
  • Bird number 724: Alcedo atthis taprobana (Kleinschmidt 1894)

This nomenclature is a commonly used alternate name for Alcedo Atthis on webpages[5] [6] as well as modern guidebooks[7]. It is not clear if the Alcedo coerulescens taxonomy has been accepted by the Indian ornithological community.

[edit] Galleria

[edit] References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2004). Alcedo coerulescens. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on [[]]. Least concern as species is described as 'common' in at least parts of its range (del Hoyo et al. 2001).
  2. ^ worldtwitcher.se
  3. ^ orientalbirdimages.org
  4. ^ Ali, Salim; Sidney Dillon Ripley (1986/2001). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, 2nd ed.,10 vols, 2nd, Oxford University Press. Bird Number 722-724, vol. 4, p. 72-78.
  5. ^ www.kolkatabirds.com
  6. ^ orientalbirdimages.org
  7. ^ Grewal, Bikram; Bill Harvey and Otto Pfister (2002). Photographic guide to birds of India. Periplus editions / Princeton University Press.  "Small Blue" and "Eurasian" given as the only alternate name for Common Kingfisher, p. 92
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