Ceyx (bird)

Ceyx
Oriental dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Subfamily: Alcedininae
Genus: Ceyx
Lacépède, 1799
Type species
Alcedo tridactyla[1]
Pallas, 1769
Species

see text

Ceyx (/ˈsiːɪks/ SEE-icks) is an Old World genus of river kingfishers.[2] These kingfishers are found from South East Asia to the Solomon Islands.

The genus was introduced by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799, and derives its name from the Greek myth of Alcyone and Ceyx.[3] The type species is the black-backed dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca).[4]

A molecular phylogenetic study of the alcedinine kingfishers published in 2007 found that the genera as then defined did not form monophyletic groups.[5] The species were subsequently rearranged into four monophyletic genera. The little kingfisher, azure kingfisher, Bismarck kingfisher, southern silvery kingfisher and Indigo-banded kingfisher were moved from Alcedo to Ceyx.[6] All except one of the birds in the reconstituted genus have three rather than the usual four toes. The exception is the Sulawesi dwarf kingfisher which retains a vestigial fourth toe.[5][7]

The Moluccan dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx lepidus) was previous named the variable dwarf kingfisher and included 15 recognised subspecies. A genetic study published in 2013 found that most of the subspecies had substantially diverged from one another.[8] The species was therefore split and 12 of the subspecies were promoted to species status. At the same time the name was changed from the variable dwarf kingfisher to the Moluccan dwarf kingfisher.[6]

The two African species in the genus Ispidina were sometimes placed in this genus.[9] Compared to the related species in the genus Alcedo they are more terrestrial.[10]

Species

There are 23 species in the genus:[6]

Genus Ceyx – Lacépède, 1799 – twenty three species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Black-backed dwarf kingfisher

Ceyx erithaca
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Two subspecies
 Indian Subcontinent and Mainland Southeast Asia. Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 NT 


Rufous-backed dwarf kingfisher

Ceyx rufidorsa
Strickland, 1847

Five subspecies
  • C. r. rufidorsa Strickland, 1847
  • C. r. motleyi Chasen & Kloss, 1929
  • C. r. captus Ripley, 1941
  • C. r. jungei Ripley, 1942
  • C. r. vargasi Manuel, 1939
Southeast Asia. Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Philippine dwarf kingfisher

Ceyx melanurus
(Kaup, 1848)

Three subspecies
  • C. m. melanurus (Kaup, 1848)
  • C. m. samarensis Steere, 1890
  • C. m. mindanensis Steere, 1890
Philippines (Luzon, Polillo Islands, Catanduanes, Basilan, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao.) Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 VU 


Celebes forest kingfisher, blue-crowned kingfisher, Celebes dwarf-kingfisher, and Celebes pygmy-kingfisher.

Ceyx fallax
(Schlegel, 1866) 		Sulawesi island, Indonesia. Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 



Sangihe dwarf kingfisher


Ceyx sangirensis
(Meyer, AB & Wiglesworth, 1898) 		Sangihe Islands, Indonesia. Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 CR 


Moluccan dwarf kingfisher

Ceyx lepidus
Temminck, 1836

Two subspecies
  • C. l. uropygialis - Gray, GR, 1861
  • C. l. lepidus - Temminck, 1836
the Moluccas Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Dimorphic dwarf kingfisher

Ceyx margarethae
Blasius, W, 1890 		File:Moluccan Dwarf-Kingfisher 0A2A4033.jpg Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Sula dwarf kingfisher


Ceyx wallacii
Sharpe, 1868 		Sula Islands in Indonesia. Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Buru dwarf kingfisher


Ceyx cajeli
(Wallace, 1863) 		Buru Island in Indonesia
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 NT 


Papuan dwarf kingfisher

Ceyx solitarius
Temminck, 1836 		New Guinea, Aru Islands and the D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago. Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Manus dwarf kingfisher


Ceyx dispar
Rothschild & Hartert, 1914 		Admiralty Islands Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 NT 


New Ireland dwarf kingfisher


Ceyx mulcatus
Rothschild & Hartert, 1914 		New Hanover Island, New Ireland and the Lihir Islands Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


New Britain dwarf kingfisher


Ceyx sacerdotis
Ramsay, EP, 1882 		New Britain and Umboi Island. Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


North Solomons dwarf kingfisher


Ceyx meeki
Rothschild, 1901

Two subspecies
  • C. m. meeki - Rothschild, 1901
  • C. m. pallidus - Mayr, 1935
west and central Solomon Islands Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


New Georgia dwarf kingfisher


Ceyx collectoris
(Rothschild & Hartert, 1901) 		west central Solomon Islands Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Guadalcanal dwarf kingfisher


Ceyx nigromaxilla
(Rothschild & Hartert, 1905)

Two subspecies
 Guadalcanal Island. Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Makira dwarf kingfisher


Ceyx gentianus
Tristram, 1879 		Makira Island Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Indigo-banded kingfisher

Ceyx cyanopectus
Lafresnaye, 1840

Two subspecies
  • C. c. cyanopectus - Lafresnaye, 1840
  • C. c. nigrirostris - Bourns & Worcester, 1894
Philippines (Luzon, Mindoro, Masbate and the Western Visayas) Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Southern silvery kingfisher

Ceyx argentatus
Tweeddale, 1877 		Philippines (Mindanao and Basilan.) Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 NT 


Northern silvery kingfisher

Ceyx flumenicola
Steere, 1890 		Philippines (the Visayas on the islands of Bohol, Leyte and Samar.) Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 NT 



Azure kingfisher

Ceyx azureus
(Latham, 1801)

Seven subspecies
  • C. a. azureus Latham, 1801
  • C. a. ruficollaris (Bankier, 1841)
  • C. a. diemenensis (Gould, 1846)
  • C. a. lessonii (Cassin, 1850)
  • C. a. affinis (G.R. Gray, 1860)
  • C. a. yamdenae (Rothschild, 1901)
  • C. a. ochrogaster (Reichenow, 1903)
northern and eastern Australia and Tasmania, as well as the lowlands of New Guinea Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Bismarck kingfisher


Ceyx websteri
(Hartert, 1898) 		Papua New Guinea. Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 VU 


Little kingfisher

Ceyx pusillus
Temminck, 1836

Nine subspecies
  • C. p. halmaherae Salomonsen, 1934
  • C. p. pusillus Temminck, 1836
  • C. p. laetior Rand, 1941
  • C. p. masauji Mathews, 1941
  • C. p. bougainvillei Ogilvie-Grant (, 1914)
  • C. p. richardsi Tristam, 1882
  • C. p. aolae Ogilvie-Grant, 1914
  • C. p. ramsayi North, 1912
  • C. p. halli Mathews, 1912
Australia (northern Queensland and coastal Northern Territory), Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 






References

  1. ^ "Alcedinidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  2. ^ "Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words". Dictionary.com.
  3. ^ Lacépède, Bernard Germain de (1799). Discours d'ouverture du Cours d'histoire naturelle des animaux vertébrés et a sang rouge: Tableau des sous-classes, divisions, sous-divisions, ordres et genres des oiseaux. Paris: Plassan. p. 10.
  4. ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 178.
  5. ^ a b Moyle, R.G.; Fuchs, J.; Pasquet, E.; Marks, B.D. (2007). "Feeding behavior, toe count, and the phylogenetic relationships among alcedinine kingfishers (Alcedininae)". Journal of Avian Biology. 38 (3): 317–326. doi:10.1111/J.2007.0908-8857.03921.x.
  6. ^ a b c Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (December 2023). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  7. ^ Fry, Fry & Harris 1992, pp. 8–9.
  8. ^ Andersen, M.J.; Oliveros, C.H.; Filardi, C.E.; Moyle, R.G. (2013). "Phylogeography of the Variable Dwarf-Kingfisher Ceyx lepidus (Aves: Alcedinidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences". Auk. 130 (1): 118–131. doi:10.1525/auk.2012.12102. hdl:1808/13331. S2CID 55352878.
  9. ^ Fry, Fry & Harris 1992, pp. 195–198.
  10. ^ Woodall, Peter (2001). "Family Alcedinidae (Kingfishers)". In del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 6, Mousebirds to Hornbills. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 103–187. ISBN 978-84-87334-30-6.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ceyx.
  • Fry, C. Hilary; Fry, Kathie; Harris, Alan (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, and Rollers. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 978-0-7136-8028-7.