Halcyon capensis
(Linnaeus,
1766) (Bird)
Organism information awaits expert curation
Organism information awaits expert curation
Taxonomy | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Coraciiformes |
Family: | Alcedinidae |
Description
Size: overall length, including large bill, c. 38 cm
Color: Above, head dark greyish brown; rest of upperparts brilliant pale greenish blue with a yellowish collar on hindneck. Below, chin and throat whitish; rest of underparts ochraceous buff (brownish yellow). Sexes Alike
Breeding: season, overall January to August/ September varying locally and also much staggered; cheifly April and May in the northern parts and Assam, February- March in Kerala. Nest, the usual unlined chamber at the end of a horizontal tunnel drilled in to the steep earth bank of a stream; up to meter or more in length and c. 10 cm in diameter. Eggs, 4 to 5, white, glossy, rounded ovals as typical of the kingfishers.
Size: overall length, including large bill, c. 38 cm
Color: Above, head dark greyish brown; rest of upperparts brilliant pale greenish blue with a yellowish collar on hindneck. Below, chin and throat whitish; rest of underparts ochraceous buff (brownish yellow). Sexes Alike
Breeding: season, overall January to August/ September varying locally and also much staggered; cheifly April and May in the northern parts and Assam, February- March in Kerala. Nest, the usual unlined chamber at the end of a horizontal tunnel drilled in to the steep earth bank of a stream; up to meter or more in length and c. 10 cm in diameter. Eggs, 4 to 5, white, glossy, rounded ovals as typical of the kingfishers.
Synonym (s)
• Pelargopsis capensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
• Alcedo capensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
• Pelargopsis capensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
• Alcedo capensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
Common Name (s)
• Stork-billed kingfisher (English)
• Storkbilled Kingfisher (English)
• Bada kilkila, Badami kourilla (Hindi)
• Kakka ponman, Kandu taleya meenchulli (Malayalam)
• Kukuluppan (Tamil)
• Dhonkchanch kalkaliyo (Gujrati)
• Brownheaded Storkbilled Kingfisher (English)
• Stork-billed kingfisher (English)
• Storkbilled Kingfisher (English)
• Bada kilkila, Badami kourilla (Hindi)
• Kakka ponman, Kandu taleya meenchulli (Malayalam)
• Kukuluppan (Tamil)
• Dhonkchanch kalkaliyo (Gujrati)
• Brownheaded Storkbilled Kingfisher (English)
Economic Importance and Threats
Ecology
Habitat: Estuarine
Trophic Level: Consumer
Prey: fish, frog, lizard, mice and young birds
Habitat: Estuarine
Trophic Level: Consumer
Prey: fish, frog, lizard, mice and young birds
Biogeography
• Kerala, Kol wetlands (Lat: 10.66) (Long: 76.18) INDIA
• Kerala, Kol wetlands (Lat: 10.33) (Long: 75.96) INDIA
• Kerala, Vembanad Lake (Lat: 9.28) (Long: 76.31) INDIA
• Kerala, Vembanad Lake (Lat: 9.66) (Long: 76.55) INDIA
• Goa, Taleigao Plateau INDIA
• Orissa, Bhitarkanika INDIA
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands INDIA
• Kerela, Kuttanad wetlands INDIA
• Goa, Carambolim INDIA
• Kerala, Kol wetlands (Lat: 10.66) (Long: 76.18) INDIA
• Kerala, Kol wetlands (Lat: 10.33) (Long: 75.96) INDIA
• Kerala, Vembanad Lake (Lat: 9.28) (Long: 76.31) INDIA
• Kerala, Vembanad Lake (Lat: 9.66) (Long: 76.55) INDIA
• Goa, Taleigao Plateau INDIA
• Orissa, Bhitarkanika INDIA
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands INDIA
• Kerela, Kuttanad wetlands INDIA
• Goa, Carambolim INDIA
Literature Source(s)
- Nameer, PO (2005) Wetlands and waterfowl conservation in kerala with special reference to Ramsar sites kerala environment congress 2005 Centre for environment and development 97-112 Available at - NIO, Goa
- Society for the Management of European Biodiversity Data (2009) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) Available at - http://www.marinespecies.org
- PBase Available at - http://www.pbase.com/
- Vernacular names of the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent Buceros, Envis newsletter: Avian Ecology & Inland Wetlands 62pp Available at - http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/BUCEROS%203%20(1).pdf
- Manakadan R and Pittie A (2001) Standardized English names of the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent BUCEROS Envis Newsletter: Avian ecology and inland wetland 6(1) 26pp Available at - http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/BUCEROS%206%20(1).pdf
- Kumar A, sati JP and Tak CK (2003) Checklist of Indian Waterbids Buceros Envis Newsletter: Avian ecology and inland wetlands 8(1) 30pp Available at - http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/BUCEROS%208%20(1).pdf
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Available at - http://www.itis.gov.
- (2003) IUCN Red list of threatened species Available at - http://www.iucnredlist.org/
- Ali S and Ripley SD (1970) Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan Oxford University Press 4 1-256pp Available at - NIO
- Shanbag A.B, Walia R and Borges S.D (2001) Impact of Konkan railway project on the avifauna of Carambolim lake in Goa Zoos' print journal 16(6) 503-508 Available at - http://www.zoosprint.org/ZooPrintJournal/2001/June/503-508.pdf
- Gopi GV and Pandav B (2007) Avifauna of Bhitarkanika Mangroves, India Zoo's print journal 22(10) 2839-2847pp Available at - http://www.zoosprint.org/ZooPrintJournal/2007/October/2839-2847.pdf
- Sivaperuman C and Jayson EA (2000) Birds of Kol wetland, Thrissur, Kerala Zoo's print journal 15(10) 344-349pp Available at - http://www.zoosprint.org/ZooPrintJournal/2000/October/344-349.pdf
- Pande S, Sant N, Ranade S, Pednekar S, Mestry P, Deshpande P, Kharat S and Deshmukh V (2007) Avifaunal survey of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, January 2007 Indian Birds 3 (5) 162–180pp Available at - http://www.indianbirds.in/pdfs/Avifaunal%20survey%20of%20Andaman%20and%20Nicobar%20Islands,%20January%202007.pdf
- Narayanan SP, Thomas AP and Sreekumar B (2011) Ornithofauna and its conservation in the Kuttanad wetlands, southern portion of Vembanad-Kole Ramsar site, India Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(4) 1663–1676 Available at - http://threatenedtaxa.org/ZooPrintJournal/2011/April/o187026iv111663-1676.pdf
- Desai, M and Shanbag, AB (2012) An avifaunal case study of a plateau from Goa, India: an eye opener for conservation of plateau ecosystems Journal of Threatened Taxa 4(3) 2444–2453 Available at - www.threatenedtaxa.org
Page last updated on:2012-09-07