River kingfishers
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae

[Photo] Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis. Author: Marek Szczepanek (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pkuczynski/Marek_Szczepanek).

Copyright (C) Marek Szczepanek Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

The river kingfishers or Alcedinidae, are one of the three families of bird in the kingfisher group.

The family is widespread through Africa, through east and south Asia as far as Australia, with one species, the River Kingfisher or European Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) also appearing in Europe and northern Asia. The origin of the family is thought to have been in Asia.

The taxonomy of the family is uncertain at present: it includes 22 to 24 species in 2 to 4 genera. The uncertainty arises from two small African species. The Dwarf Kingfisher is sometimes placed in the monospecific genus Myioceyx, and sometimes with the Pygmy Kingfishers in Ispidina. However, molecular analysis (Moyle, 2006) suggests that the Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher is most closely related to the Malachite Kingfisher, and that the present arrangement into Alcedo and Ceyx needs to be reviewed as it seems not to reflect the actual relationships (for example, the Azure Kingfisher is closer to Ceyx erithacus).

Species list:

Blyth's Kingfisher, Alcedo hercules
Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
Half-collared Kingfisher, Alcedo semitorquata
Shining-blue Kingfisher, Alcedo quadribrachys
Blue-eared Kingfisher, Alcedo meninting
Azure Kingfisher, Alcedo azurea
Bismarck Kingfisher, Alcedo websteri
Blue-banded Kingfisher, Alcedo euryzona
Indigo-banded Kingfisher, Alcedo cyanopecta
Silvery Kingfisher, Alcedo argentata
Malachite Kingfisher, Alcedo cristata
Madagascar Malachite Kingfisher, Alcedo vintsioides
White-bellied Kingfisher, Alcedo leucogaster
Small Blue Kingfisher, Alcedo coerulescens
Little Kingfisher, Alcedo pusilla
Pr??ncipe Kingfisher, Alcedo nais
S??o Tom?? Kingfisher, Alcedo thomensis
Black-backed Kingfisher, Ceyx erithacus
Philippine Kingfisher, Ceyx melanurus
Sulawesi Kingfisher, Ceyx fallax
Rufous-backed Kingfisher, Ceyx rufidorsa
Variable Kingfisher, Ceyx lepidus
Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher, Ispidina madagascariensis
African Pygmy Kingfisher, Ispidina picta
Dwarf Kingfisher, Ispidina lecontei

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_kingfishers

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