Editing Kingfisher

{{Short description|Family of birds}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Automatic taxobox
 | name = Kingfisher
 | image = Alcedo azurea - Julatten.jpg
 | image_caption = [[Azure kingfisher]] (''Ceyx azureus'')
 | taxon = Alcedinidae
 | authority = [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque|Rafinesque]], 1815
 | display_parents = 2
 | range_map  = Kingfisher range.png
 | range_map_caption = {{legend0|#009bbc|&nbsp;global range of the family}}
 | subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
 | subdivision ={{plainlist|
* [[Alcedininae]]
* [[Halcyoninae]]
* [[Cerylinae]]
}}
}}
[[File:Brown-headed Paradise-Kingfisher.jpg|thumb|The [[paradise kingfisher]]s of New Guinea have unusually long tails for the group.]]
[[File:Dacelo novaeguineae waterworks.jpg|thumb|right|The [[kookaburra]] has a call which sounds like laughter.]]
[[File:Syma torotoro.jpg|thumb|Like many forest-living kingfishers, the [[yellow-billed kingfisher]] often nests in arboreal termite nests.]]
[[File:Ceyx erithaca.JPG|thumb|The [[black-backed dwarf kingfisher]] is considered a bad omen by warriors of the Dusun tribe of Borneo.]]
[[File:Forest kingfisher 1 (22604684996) (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Forest kingfisher]] in [[Queensland]] ]]

'''Kingfishers''' are a [[family (biology)|family]], the '''Alcedinidae''', of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order [[Coraciiformes]]. They have a [[cosmopolitan distribution]], with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, but also can be found in Europe and the Americas. They can be found in deep forests near calm ponds and small rivers. The family contains 118&nbsp;species and is divided into three [[subfamilies]] and 19&nbsp;[[genera]]. All kingfishers have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright [[plumage]] with only small [[sexual dimorphism|differences between the sexes]]. Most species are tropical in distribution, and a slight majority are found only in forests.

They consume a wide range of prey, usually caught by swooping down from a perch. While kingfishers are usually thought to live near rivers and eat fish, many species live away from water and eat small invertebrates. Like other members of their order, they nest in cavities, usually tunnels dug into the natural or artificial banks in the ground. Some kingfishers nest in arboreal termite nests. A few species, principally insular forms, are [[threatened]] with extinction. In Britain, the word "kingfisher" normally refers to the [[common kingfisher]].

== Taxonomy, systematics and evolution ==
The kingfisher [[family (biology)|family]] Alcedinidae is in the order [[Coraciiformes]], which also includes the [[motmot]]s, [[bee-eater]]s, [[tody|todies]], [[Coraciidae|roller]]s, and [[ground-roller]]s.<ref name=ioc /> The name of the family was introduced (as Alcedia) by the French [[polymath]] [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque]] in 1815.<ref>{{cite book | last=Rafinesque | first=Constantine Samuel | author-link=Constantine Samuel Rafinesque | year=1815 | title=Analyse de la nature ou, Tableau de l'univers et des corps organisés | publisher=Self-published | place=Palermo | lang=fr | page=66 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48310144 | access-date=21 February 2018 | archive-date=4 February 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204175200/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48310144 | url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Bock|1994|pp=145, 252}} It is divided into three subfamilies, the [[tree kingfisher]]s (Halcyoninae), the [[river kingfishers]] (Alcedininae), and the [[water kingfisher]]s (Cerylinae).<ref name=ioc>{{cite web | editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2017 | title=Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers | website=World Bird List |edition=Version&nbsp;7.2 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/rollers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=28 May 2017 | archive-date=4 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004213031/http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/rollers/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The name Daceloninae is sometimes used for the tree kingfisher subfamily but it was introduced by [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte]] in 1841 while Halcyoninae introduced by [[Nicholas Aylward Vigors]] in 1825 is earlier and has priority.{{sfn|Bock|1994|p=118}} A few taxonomists elevate the three subfamilies to family status.<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Sibley | first1=Charles G. | last2=Monroe | first2=Burt L., Jr | year=1990 | title=Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World | place=New Haven, CT | publisher=Yale University Press | isbn=978-0-300-04969-5 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | last1=Christidis | first1=Les | last2=Boles | first2=Walter | year=2008 | title=Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds | place=Collingwood, VIC, Australia | publisher=CSIRO | isbn=978-0-643-09602-8 | pages=168–171 }}</ref> In spite of the word "kingfisher" in their English vernacular names, many of these birds are not specialist fish-eaters; none of the species in Halcyoninae are.{{sfn|Fry|Fry|Harris|1992|p=8}}

All kingfishers are placed in one family, Alcedinidae, and recent research suggests that this should be divided into three subfamilies.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} 

The scientific name is derived from Greek mythology and the ancient belief that the birds nested in the open sea and called them halkyons (Latin halcyon) from hals (sea) and kyon (born). In Greek mythology the gods gave the halkyons the ability to calm the waters when nesting. In Greek mythology, one of the [[Pleiades (Greek mythology)|Pleiades]] named Alcyone (Alcedo in Latin) married Ceyx who was killed in a shipwreck. Alcyone drowned herself in grief and the gods revived them both as kingfishers.<ref name=":0" />

The phylogenetic relationship between the kingfishers and the other five families that make up the order Coraciiformes is shown in the cladogram below.<ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Prum | first1=R.O. | author1-link=Richard Prum | last2=Berv | first2=J.S. | last3=Dornburg | first3=A. | last4=Field | first4=D.J. | last5=Townsend | first5=J.P. | last6=Lemmon | first6=E.M. | last7=Lemmon | first7=A.R. | year=2015 | title=A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing | journal=Nature | volume=526 | issue=7574 | pages=569–573 | doi=10.1038/nature15697 | pmid=26444237 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2015Natur.526..569P }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Kuhl | first1=H. | last2=Frankl-Vilches | first2=C. | last3=Bakker | first3=A. | last4=Mayr | first4=G. | last5=Nikolaus | first5=G. | last6=Boerno | first6=S.T. | last7=Klages | first7=S. | last8=Timmermann | first8=B. | last9=Gahr | first9=M. | date=2021 | title=An unbiased molecular approach using 3′-UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life | journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution | volume=38 | issue=1 | pages=108–127 | doi=10.1093/molbev/msaa191 | doi-access=free | pmid=32781465 | pmc=7783168 | hdl=21.11116/0000-0007-B72A-C | hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Stiller | first1=J. | display-authors=etal | year=2024 | title=Complexity of avian evolution revealed by family-level genomes | journal=Nature | volume=629 | issue= 8013| pages=851–860 | doi=10.1038/s41586-024-07323-1 | doi-access=free | pmid=38560995 | pmc=11111414 | bibcode=2024Natur.629..851S }}</ref> The number of species in each family is taken from the list maintained by [[Frank Gill (ornithologist)|Frank Gill]], [[Pamela C. Rasmussen]] and David Donsker on behalf of the [[International Ornithological Committee]] (IOC).<ref>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=December 2023 | title=IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=17 June 2024 }}</ref>
{{Clade | style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%
|label1=[[Coraciiformes]]
|1={{clade
   |1={{clade
      |1=[[Meropidae]] – bee-eaters (31 species)
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Brachypteraciidae]] – ground rollers (5 species)
         |2=[[Coraciidae]] – rollers (13 species)
         }}
      }}
   |2={{clade
      |1=[[Todidae]] – todies (5 species)
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Momotidae]] – motmots (14 species)
         |2='''Alcedinidae''' – kingfishers (118 species)
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

The centre of kingfisher diversity is the [[Australasian realm]], but the group originated in the [[Indomalayan realm|Indomalayan region]] around 27 million years ago (Mya) and invaded the Australasian realm a number of times.<ref name=andersen2017>{{ cite journal | last1=Andersen | first1=M.J. | last2=McCullough | first2=J.M. | last3=Mauck III | first3=W.M. | last4=Smith | first4=B.T. | last5=Moyle | first5=R.G. | year=2017 | title=A phylogeny of kingfishers reveals an Indomalayan origin and elevated rates of diversification on oceanic islands | journal=Journal of Biogeography | volume= 45| issue= 2| pages=1–13 | doi=10.1111/jbi.13139 | doi-access= }}</ref> [[Fossil]] kingfishers have been described from Lower [[Eocene]] rocks in [[Wyoming]] and Middle Eocene rocks in Germany, around 30–40&nbsp;Mya. More recent fossil kingfishers have been described in the Miocene rocks of Australia (5–25&nbsp;Mya). Several fossil birds have been erroneously ascribed to the kingfishers, including ''[[Halcyornis]]'', from the Lower Eocene rocks in [[Kent]], which has also been considered a [[gull]], but is now thought to have been a member of an extinct family.<ref name ="HBW" />

Amongst the three subfamilies, the Alcedininae are [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] to the other two subfamilies. The few species found in the Americas, all from the subfamily [[Cerylinae]], suggest that the sparse representation in the Western Hemisphere resulted from just two original colonising events. The subfamily is a comparatively recent split from the Halcyoninae, diversifying in the Old World as recently as the Miocene or Pliocene.<ref name="Moyle">{{cite journal | last=Moyle | first=Robert G | year=2006 | title=A molecular phylogeny of kingfishers (Alcedinidae) with insights into early biogeographic history | journal=Auk | volume=123 | issue=2 | pages=487–499 | doi=10.1642/0004-8038(2006)123[487:AMPOKA]2.0.CO;2 | hdl=1808/16596 | s2cid=84824051 | url=https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/1808/16596/1/MoyleR_Auk_123%282%29487.pdf | hdl-access=free | access-date=24 October 2017 | archive-date=25 September 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925100139/https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/1808/16596/1/MoyleR_Auk_123(2)487.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref>

The following cladogram is based on a [[molecular phylogenetic]] study published in 2017.<ref name=andersen2017/>
{{clade|style=font-size:90%;line-height:90%
|label1='''Alcedinidae'''
|1={{clade
   |label1=[[Alcedininae]]
   |1={{clade
      |1={{clade
         |1=''[[Ispidina]]'' – 2 species
         |2=''[[Corythornis]]'' – 4 species
         }}
      |2={{clade
        |1=''[[Alcedo]]'' – 7 species
        |2=''[[Ceyx (bird)|Ceyx]]'' – 21 species
        }}
      }}
   |2={{clade
      |label1=[[Cerylinae]]
      |1={{clade
         |1=''[[Megaceryle]]'' – 4 species
         |2={{clade
            |1=''[[Ceryle]]'' – pied kingfisher
            |2=''[[Chloroceryle]]'' – 4 species
            }}
         }}
      |label2=[[Halcyoninae]]
      |2={{clade
         |1={{clade
            |1=''[[Lacedo]]'' – banded kingfisher
            |2={{clade
               |1=''[[Pelargopsis]]'' – 3 species
               |2=''[[Halcyon (genus)|Halcyon]]'' – 12 species
               }}
            }}
         |2={{clade
            |1={{clade
               |1=''[[Cittura]]'' – 2 species (lilac kingfishers)
               |2=''[[Tanysiptera]]'' – 9 species (paradise kingfishers)
               }}
            |2={{clade
               |1={{clade
                  |1={{clade
                     |1=''[[Melidora]]'' – hook-billed kingfisher
                     |2=''[[Dacelo]]'' (includes ''[[Clytoceyx]]'') – 5 species (kookaburras)
                     }}
                  |2=''[[Actenoides]]'' (includes ''[[Caridonax]]'') – 6 species 
                  }}
               |2={{clade
                  |1=''[[Syma]]'' – 2 species
                  |2=''[[Todiramphus]]'' – 30 species
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

== Description ==
The smallest species of kingfisher is the [[African dwarf kingfisher]] (''Ispidina lecontei''), which averages {{cvt|10|cm|abbr=on}} in length and between {{cvt|9|and|12|g|abbr=on}} in weight.{{sfn|Fry|Fry|Harris|1992|pp=195–196}} The largest kingfisher in Africa is the [[giant kingfisher]] (''Megaceryle maxima''), which is {{cvt|42|to|46|cm}} in length and {{cvt|255|-|426|g}} in weight.{{sfn|Fry|Fry|Harris|1992|pp=231–232}} The common Australian kingfisher, known as the [[laughing kookaburra]] (''Dacelo novaeguineae''), is the heaviest species, with females reaching nearly {{convert|500|g|abbr=on}} in weight.{{sfn|Fry|Fry|Harris|1992|pp=133–136}}

The [[plumage]] of most kingfishers is bright, with green and blue being the most common colours. The brightness of the colours is neither the product of iridescence (except in the American kingfishers) or pigments but is instead caused by the structure of the feathers, which causes scattering of blue light (the [[Tyndall effect]]).<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Bancroft | first1=Wilder | last2=Chamot | first2=Emile M. | last3=Merritt | first3=Ernest | last4=Mason | first4=Clyde W. | year=1923 | title=Blue feathers | journal=The Auk | volume=40 | issue=2 | pages=275–300 | url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v040n02/p0275-p0300.pdf | doi=10.2307/4073818 | jstor=4073818 | access-date=3 March 2013 | archive-date=12 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712223333/http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v040n02/p0275-p0300.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref> In most species, no overt differences between the sexes exist; when differences occur, they are quite small (less than 10%).<ref name="HBW">{{Cite book | last=Woodall | first=Peter | editor-first=Josep | editor-last=del Hoyo | editor2-first=Andrew | editor2-last=Elliott | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=Jordi | contribution=Family Alcedinidae (Kingfishers) | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World | volume=6, Mousebirds to Hornbills | year=2001 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0001unse/page/103 103–187] | place=Barcelona | publisher=Lynx Edicions | isbn=978-84-87334-30-6 | url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0001unse/page/103 }}</ref>

The kingfishers have long, dagger-like bills. The bill is usually longer and more compressed in species that hunt fish, and shorter and more broad in species that hunt prey off the ground. The largest and most atypical bill is that of the [[shovel-billed kookaburra]], which is used to dig through the forest floor in search of prey. They generally have short legs, although species that feed on the ground have longer tarsi. Most species have four toes, three of which are forward-pointing and fused towards the base ("syndactyl") to some extent.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |author=Austin, Oliver Luther |title=Birds of the world : a survey of the twenty-seven orders and one hundred and fifty-five families |publisher=Hamlyn |year=1962 |page=175}}</ref>

The irises of most species are dark brown. The kingfishers have excellent vision; they are capable of binocular vision and are thought in particular to have good colour vision. They have restricted movement of their eyes within the eye sockets, instead using head movements to track prey. In addition, they are capable of compensating for the refraction of water and reflection when hunting prey underwater, and are able to judge depth under water accurately. They also have nictitating membranes that cover the eyes to protect them when they hit the water; the [[pied kingfisher]] has a bony plate, which slides across the eye when it hits the water.<ref name="HBW" />

== Distribution and habitat ==
{{See also|List of Coraciiformes by population}}
[[File:Fishing - Alcedo atthis, crop.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Alcedo atthis]]'' diving towards prey]]
The kingfishers have a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring throughout the world's tropical and temperate regions. They are absent from the polar regions and some of the world's driest deserts. Several species have reached islands groups, particularly those in the south and east Pacific Ocean. The Old World tropics and Australasia are the core areas for this group. Europe and North America north of Mexico are very poorly represented, with only one common kingfisher ([[common kingfisher]] and [[belted kingfisher]], respectively), and two uncommon or very local species each: ([[ringed kingfisher]] and [[green kingfisher]] in the southwestern United States, [[pied kingfisher]] and [[white-throated kingfisher]] in southeastern Europe). The six species occurring in the Americas are four closely related green kingfishers in the genus ''[[American green kingfisher|Chloroceryle]]'' and two large crested kingfishers in the genus ''[[Megaceryle]]''. Even tropical South America has only five species plus the [[bird migration|wintering]] belted kingfisher. In comparison, the African country of the Gambia has eight resident species in its {{convert|120|by|20|mi|km|adj=on}} area.<ref name="HBW" />

Individual species may have massive ranges, like the common kingfisher, which ranges from Ireland across Europe, North Africa, and Asia as far as the Solomon Islands in Australasia, or the pied kingfisher, which has a widespread distribution across Africa and Asia. Other species have much smaller ranges, particularly insular species which are [[Endemism|endemic]] to single small islands. The [[Kofiau paradise kingfisher]] is restricted to the island of [[Kofiau]] off New Guinea.<ref name="HBW" />

Kingfishers occupy a wide range of habitats. While they are often associated with rivers and lakes, over half the world's species are found in forests and forested streams. They also occupy a wide range of other habitats. The [[red-backed kingfisher]] of Australia lives in the driest deserts, although kingfishers are absent from other dry deserts like the Sahara. Other species live high in mountains, or in open woodland, and a number of species live on tropical [[coral atoll]]s. Numerous species have adapted to human-modified habitats, particularly those adapted to woodlands, and may be found in cultivated and agricultural areas, as well as parks and gardens in towns and cities.

== Behaviour and ecology ==

=== Diet and feeding ===
[[File:Kingfisher catching fish, eating, defecating and flying in Kõrvemaa, Estonia (October 2022).webm|thumb|Kingfisher catching fish, eating, defecating, and flying in Kõrvemaa, Estonia (October 2022)]]
Kingfishers feed on a wide variety of prey. They are most famous for hunting and eating fish, and some species do specialise in catching fish, but other species take [[crustacean]]s, frogs and other [[amphibian]]s, [[annelid]] worms, [[mollusc]]s, insects, spiders, [[centipede]]s, reptiles (including snakes), and even birds and mammals. Individual species may specialise in a few items or take a wide variety of prey, and for species with large global distributions, different populations may have different diets. Woodland and forest kingfishers take mainly insects, particularly grasshoppers, whereas the water kingfishers are more specialised in taking fish. The red-backed kingfisher has been observed hammering into the mud nests of [[fairy martin]]s to feed on their nestlings.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Schulz |first=M|year=1998|title=Bats and other fauna in disused Fairy Martin ''Hirundo ariel'' nests | journal=Emu | volume=98 | issue=3 | pages=184–191 | doi=10.1071/MU98026 |bibcode=1998EmuAO..98..184S}}</ref> Kingfishers usually hunt from an exposed perch; when a prey item is observed, the kingfisher swoops down to snatch it, then returns to the perch. Kingfishers of all three families beat larger prey against a perch to kill the prey and to dislodge or break protective spines and bones. Having beaten the prey, it is manipulated and then swallowed.<ref name="HBW" /> Sometimes, a pellet of bones, scales, and other indigestible debris is coughed up.<ref name=Fry>{{cite book| last1 = Fry | first1 = C. Hilary | last2= Fry |first2=Kathie |last3=Harris |first3=Alan| title = Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers | year =1999 |location = London| publisher = Christopher Helm | isbn =978-0-7136-5206-2 | pages=219–221}}</ref> The [[shovel-billed kookaburra]] uses its massive, wide bill as a shovel to dig for worms in soft mud.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="120px">
Ein Eisvogel im Schwebflug.jpg|[[Common kingfisher]] hovering
Giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) female composite.jpg|[[Giant kingfisher]] breaking spine of tilapia fish
Pied kingfisher killing fish.jpg|[[Pied kingfisher]] killing a fish
Kingfisher pellet - 2020-02-02 - Andy Mabbett - 02 (cropped).jpg|Pellet of a common kingfisher
</gallery>

=== Breeding ===
Kingfishers are [[territory (animal)|territorial]], some species defending their territories vigorously. They are generally [[monogamy in animals|monogamous]], although cooperative breeding has been observed in some species and is quite common in others,<ref name="HBW" /> for example the laughing kookaburra, where [[helpers at the nest|helpers]] aid the dominant breeding pair in raising the young.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Legge|first1=S.|last2=Cockburn | first2=A. | year=2000 |title=Social and mating system of cooperatively breeding laughing kookaburras (''Dacelo novaeguineae'') | journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology | volume=47 | issue=4 | pages=220–229 | doi=10.1007/s002650050659 |bibcode=2000BEcoS..47..220L |s2cid=26382479}}</ref>

Like all Coraciiformes, the kingfishers are cavity nesters, as well as tree nesters, with most species [[bird nest|nesting]] in holes dug in the ground. These holes are usually in earth banks on the sides of rivers, lakes or man-made ditches. Some species may nest in holes in trees, the earth clinging to the roots of an uprooted tree, or arboreal nests of termites (termitarium). These termite nests are common in forest species. The nests take the form of a small chamber at the end of a tunnel. Nest-digging duties are shared between the sexes. During the initial excavations, the bird may fly at the chosen site with considerable force, and birds have injured themselves fatally while doing this. The length of the tunnels varies by species and location; nests in termitaria are necessarily much shorter than those dug into the earth, and nests in harder substrates are shorter than those in soft soil or sand. The longest tunnels recorded are those of the giant kingfisher, which have been found to be {{convert|8.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} long.<ref name="HBW" />

The eggs of kingfishers are invariably white. The typical [[clutch (eggs)|clutch]] size varies by species; some of the very large and very small species lay as few as two eggs per clutch, whereas others may lay 10 eggs, the typical is around three to six eggs. Both sexes [[avian incubation|incubate]] the eggs. The offspring of the kingfisher usually stay with the parents for 3–4 months.<ref name="HBW" />

== Status and conservation ==
[[File:Actenoides concretus.png|thumb|The [[rufous-collared kingfisher]] is categorised as [[near-threatened]] due to the rapid loss of its rainforest habitat.]]

A number of species are considered [[threatened]] by human activities and are in danger of [[extinction]]. Most of these are forest species with limited distribution, particularly insular species. They are threatened by [[Habitat destruction|habitat loss]] caused by forest clearance or degradation and in some cases by [[introduced species]]. The [[Marquesan kingfisher]] of [[French Polynesia]] is listed as [[Critically endangered species|critically endangered]] due to a combination of habitat loss and degradation caused by introduced cattle, and possibly due to predation by introduced species.<ref>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2019 |title=''Todiramphus godeffroyi'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T22683487A149519891 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22683487A149519891.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>

== Relationship with humans ==
Kingfishers are generally shy birds, but in spite of this, they feature heavily in human culture, generally due to the large head supporting its powerful mouth, their bright plumage, or some species' interesting behavior.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Vuong|first1=Quan-Hoang|last2=Nguyen|first2=Minh-Hoang|date=2023|title=Kingfisher: contemplating the connection between nature and humans through science, art, literature, and lived experiences |url=https://www.publish.csiro.au/PC/PC23044|journal=Pacific Conservation Biology|volume=30 |doi=10.1071/PC23044}}</ref>

For the [[Dusun people|Dusun]] people of [[Borneo]], the [[Oriental dwarf kingfisher]] is considered a bad omen, and warriors who see one on the way to battle should return home. Another Bornean tribe considers the [[banded kingfisher]] an omen bird, albeit generally a good omen.<ref name="HBW" />

The [[sacred kingfisher]], along with other Pacific kingfishers, was venerated by the Polynesians, who believed it had control over the seas and waves.

Modern taxonomy also refers to the winds and sea in naming kingfishers after a classical Greek myth. The first pair of the mythical-bird Halcyon (kingfishers) were created from a marriage of [[Alcyone]] and [[Ceyx]]. As gods, they lived the sacrilege of referring to themselves as Zeus and Hera. They died for this, but the other gods, in an act of compassion, made them into birds, thus restoring them to their original seaside habitat. In addition, special "[[wikt:halcyon days|halcyon days]]" were granted. These are the seven days on either side of the winter solstice when storms shall never again occur for them. The Halcyon birds' "days" were for caring for the winter-hatched clutch (or brood), but the phrase "Halcyon days" also refers specifically to an idyllic time in the past, or in general to a peaceful time. In another version, a woman named [[Alcyone (daughter of Sciron)|Alcyone]] was cast into the waves by her father for her promiscuity and was turned into a kingfisher.

Various kinds of kingfishers and human cultural artifacts are [[Alcyone#Legacy|named after the couple]], in reference to this metamorphosis myth:
* The [[genus]] ''[[Ceyx (Kingfisher)|Ceyx]]'' (within the [[river kingfishers]] [[family (biology)|family]]) is named after him.
* The kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae ([[tree kingfisher]]s) is named after his wife, as is the genus [[Halcyon (genus)|''Halcyon'']].
* The belted kingfisher's specific name (''Megaceryle alcyon'') also references her name.

Not all the kingfishers are named in this way. The etymology of kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis'') is obscure; the term comes from "king's fisher", but why that name was applied is not known.<ref>{{cite web|title = Online Etymology Dictionary|url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=king&searchmode=term|author = Douglas Harper|year = 2001|access-date = 2007-07-14|archive-date = 25 May 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170525105914/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=king&searchmode=term|url-status = live}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book | last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names | series=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History | volume= 222 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History | hdl=2246/830 | place=New York  | url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/830 }}<!--Link allows download of the 48&nbsp;MB pdf-->
* {{cite book | last1=Fry | first1=C. Hilary| last2=Fry | first2=Kathie| last3=Harris | first3=Alan | year=1992 | title=Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, and Rollers| publisher=Christopher Helm |  location=London | isbn=978-0-7136-8028-7 }}

== External links ==
{{Commons|Alcedinidae}}
* ARKive – [https://web.archive.org/web/20060527025558/http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/birds/Alcedo_atthis/ images and movies of the kingfisher ''(Alcedo atthis)'']
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/kingfishers-alcedinidae Kingfisher videos] on the Internet Bird Collection

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[[Category:Alcedinidae|*]]
[[Category:Kingfishers|*]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque]]
[[Category:Coraciiformes]]