Megaceryle is a genus of very large kingfishers. They have a wide distribution in the Americas, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
The genus was erected by German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848.[2] The type species is a subspecies of the crested kingfisher, Megaceryle lugubris guttulata.[3]Megaceryle is from the Ancient Greek megas, "great", and the existing genus Ceryle.[4]
^Andersen, M.J.; McCullough, J.M.; Mauck III, W.M.; Smith, B.T.; Moyle, R.G. (2017). "A phylogeny of kingfishers reveals an Indomalayan origin and elevated rates of diversification on oceanic islands". Journal of Biogeography. 45 (2): 1–13. doi:10.1111/jbi.13139.
^Kaup, Johann Jakob (1848). "Die Familie der Eisvögel (Alcedidae)". Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins für das Großherzogthum Hessen und Umgebung (in German). 2: 68. OCLC 183221382.
^Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 5. Vol. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 165.
^Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 245. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Megaceryle is a genus of very large kingfishers. They have a wide distribution in the Americas, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The genus was erected by German...
The belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) is a large, conspicuous water kingfisher, native to North America. All kingfishers are placed in one family,...
The giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) is the largest kingfisher in Africa, where it is a resident breeding bird over most of the continent south of...
The crested kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris) is a very large kingfisher that is native to parts of southern Asia, stretching eastwards from the Indian...
The ringed kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata) is a large, conspicuous, and noisy kingfisher bird commonly found along the lower Rio Grande Valley in southeasternmost...
ancestor of the ringed kingfisher and the belted kingfisher in the genus Megaceryle. The subfamily Cerylinae contains nine kingfisher species and is divided...
in weight. The largest kingfisher in Africa is the giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima), which is 42 to 46 cm (17 to 18 in) in length and 255–426 g (9...
their adult stages can range from 150 g (5.3 oz) belted kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) to 1,100 lb (500 kg) American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)...
found nesting in old, earthen burrows vacated by belted kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) or sand martins (Riparia riparia). Both sexes help with the nest...
as is the genus Halcyon. The belted kingfisher's Latin species name (Megaceryle alcyon) also references her name. Their story features in The Book of...
replaced in the higher hills of the Himalayas by the crested kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris). The pied kingfisher is estimated to be one of the three most...
are fused together almost to their claws, as in the belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). This is characteristic of Coraciiformes (kingfishers, bee-eaters...
ibis, herons, egrets, anhingas (Anhinga anhinga), and belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). Mammals in cypress regions include white-tailed deer, squirrels...
approximately 10.2 kg (22 lb). The largest kingfisher is the giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima), at up to 48 cm (19 in) long and 425 g (15.0 oz) in weight. The...
terns in addition to kingfishers (up to the size of the giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima)), rollers, hoopoes, small hornbills, parakeets and some passerines...
FAO. Archived from the original on 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2010-06-20. "Megaceryle maxima (Pallas). African Giant Kingfisher. Alcyon géant.", The Birds of...
reluctant to eat it. However, one study observed a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) beat an eastern newt on a nest box 15 times before eating it....
stubby tails. One species has been recorded in Ohio. Belted kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon (B) Order: Piciformes Family: Picidae Woodpeckers are small to...
Global Information
