The document provides information about the white-throated kingfisher, including its geographic range across parts of Asia and Africa, habitat preferences for agricultural areas and forests, physical description, breeding behavior, average lifespan, territorial and vocal behavior, and diet of small fish.
The document provides information about the white-throated kingfisher, including its geographic range across parts of Asia and Africa, habitat preferences for agricultural areas and forests, physical description, breeding behavior, average lifespan, territorial and vocal behavior, and diet of small fish.
The document provides information about the white-throated kingfisher, including its geographic range across parts of Asia and Africa, habitat preferences for agricultural areas and forests, physical description, breeding behavior, average lifespan, territorial and vocal behavior, and diet of small fish.
The document provides information about the white-throated kingfisher, including its geographic range across parts of Asia and Africa, habitat preferences for agricultural areas and forests, physical description, breeding behavior, average lifespan, territorial and vocal behavior, and diet of small fish.
By John McCallen Geographic Range Habitat Physical Description Reproduction Lifespan/Longevity Behavior Communication and Perception Food Habits Predation Ecosystem Roles Economic Importance for Humans: Positive Economic Importance for Humans: Negative Conservation Status Contributors References Classification Kingdom
Animalia animals
Phylum
Chordata chordates
Geographic Range White-throated king fish e rs range from Turkey in the west to the Philip pines in the east, in clud i ng Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cam bo dia, China, Egypt, India, In done sia, Iran, Iraq, Is rael, Jor dan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myan mar, Nepal, Pak istan, Saudi Ara bia, Sin g ap ore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tai wan, Thai l and, and Viet nam. (An der ton and Rass mussen, 2005; "2006 IUCN Red List of Threat e ned Species", 2006) Biogeographic Regions: palearctic ( native ) ; oriental ( native ) Subphylum
Vertebrata vertebrates
Class
Aves birds
Order
Coraciiformes kingfishers and relatives
Habitat White-throated king fish e rs are com mon in agri cul tural http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Halcyon_smyrnensis/
Family
Alcedinidae kingfishers 1/9
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areas, swamps, marshes, near ponds, lakes, in park l ands and in man g rove swamps. In India they seem to be less re l iant on par tic u l ar aquatic habi tats than other king fishe rs and can be found in dry de cid io us forests in ad di tion to rice pad dies, oil palm plan ta tions, drainage ditches, gar dens, fish ponds and even beaches. Though they feed on fish, white-throated king fish e rs are not deep divers and do not spend sig nif i cant amounts of time un der wa ter. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983; An der ton and Rass mussen, 2005) Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial ; saltwater or marine ; freshwater Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; scrub forest ; mountains Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds ; rivers and streams ; temporary pools ; coastal ; brackish water Wetlands: marsh ; swamp ; bog Other Habitat Features: suburban ; agricultural ; riparian ; estuarine
Genus
Halcyon blue kingfishers
Species
Halcyon smyrnensis white-throated kingfisher
Range elevation 0 to 2300 m
0.00 to 7545.93 ft
Physical Description White-throated king fish e rs have thick, red dish-or ange bills, red legs, and dark choco l ate-col o red heads, bel lies, and shoul ders. A bril l iant white patch can be found on the throat and somet imes the breast. The wings and tail are bright blue with white patches on the pri maries and black dis tal tips. The sexes ap pear sim i l ar. Ju ve nile birds are gen er ally less bril l iantly-col ored with duskier bills and less brown on the wings. Young in di vid u als may also sport a shoul der mark with ex ten sive blue edg i ng. White-throated king fish e rs are the only South Asian king fisher that is dis tinctly darker below than it is above. Adult birds weigh 65.5 to 81 grams. Basal meta bolic rate has not been recorded. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983; An der ton and Rass mussen, 2005; Wells, 1999) There are sev e ral rec og nized sub species. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Halcyon_smyrnensis/ 2/9
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Hal cyon smyr nen sis smyr nen sis, one of the two larger sub species, ranges from the Gulf of Khamb hat in India west to Saudi Ara bia. This sub species is bright blue-green above and has pale brown un der parts. Hal cyon smyr nen sis fusca is a res i dent in the whole of India and ranges up ward into parts of Nepal and Sikkim. This sub species also has a bright blue-green back, but its belly is more darkly choco l ate-col ored and it is smaller than H. smyr nen sis smyr nen sis. Hal cyon smyr nen sis per pul chra is found in east Pak i stan north e rn India, Bangladesh, Myan n mar, Thai l and, Malaysia, south e ast China and Tai wan. This sub species is on the smaller side and is more pur plish-blue above than the pre vi ous two sup species. Hal cyon smyr nen sis sat u ra tior is found on the An daman Is lands. This sub species is also pur plish-blue, but it is larger than H. smyr nen sis per pul chra and it also bears a darker brown belly. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983; An der ton and Rass mussen, 2005; Wells, 1999) Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic ; bilateral symmetry Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Range mass 65.5 to 81 g
2.31 to 2.85 oz
Range length 194 to 210 mm
7.64 to 8.27 in
Range wingspan 113 to 129 mm
4.45 to 5.08 in
Reproduction Hal cyon smyr nen sis breeds sea sona lly and in monog a mous pairs. Ac cord i ng to the lit er a ture the for ma tion of pairs has not been prop e rly stud i ed, but it is clear that one male and one fe male form a co op er a tive re la tions hip to raise the young. It is not clear if this re la tion ship sea sonal or life-long. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983) Mating System: monogamous
White-throated king fishe rs breed yearly in pairs, but it is un clear if a mated pair will re main to g ether for http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Halcyon_smyrnensis/ 3/9
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more than one sea son. Breed i ng oc curs from Jan u ary through Au g ust, with most ac tiv i ty dur i ng the pe riod from April to July. Breed i ng be g ins ear li e st in India and Sri Lanka. Mat i ng birds dig a 50 cm to 1 m deep bur row into a ver ti cal em bank ment or wall. The tun nel usual slants up ward and ter mi nates in a wider nest i ng cham ber. The floor of this chamb er is not lined, but usu ally be comes scat tered with feed i ng and waste de tri tus. Both par e nts share the in cu ba tion of their 3 to 7 eggs for an un spec if ied amount of time. Chicks are al tri cial and born blind. Once the chicks have hatched, both par e nts also par tic i pate in feed i ng and car i ng for the young. The fledg i ng pe riod is from 18 to 20 days. Over all there is lit tle data on re pro duc tive be hav i or in this or other Asian Hal cyon species. Time to hatch i ng, time to in de pen dence, num ber of clutches each pair rears and age at sex ual ma tu rity are un clear for this species. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983; Wells, 1999) Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate) ; sexual ; oviparous
Breeding interval White-throated kingfishers breed once yearly.
Breeding season Range eggs per Breeding season generally occurs 3 to 7 from January to August, with some local variation.
Range fledging age 18 to 20 days
Both par e nts par tic i pate in nest-build i ng, clutch in cu ba tion, and the feed i ng and gen e ral rear i ng of the off spring. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983) Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization ( provisioning , protecting : male , female ) ; prehatching/birth ( provisioning : female , protecting : male , female ) ; pre-weaning/fledging ( provisioning : male , http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Halcyon_smyrnensis/ 4/9
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female , protecting : male , female ) ; pre-independence ( provisioning : male , female , protecting : male , female )
Lifespan/Longevity White-throated king fisher av er age lifesp an in or out of cap tiv i ty is not recorded. Few white-throated king fish ers have been banded, but the longest in ter val be tween in ti tial band i ng and re cap ture is 5 years and six months. (Wells, 1999)
Average lifespan Status: captivity 5.5 years
AnAge
Behavior White-throated king fish e rs live soli tar i ly or in pairs dur i ng the breed i ng seas on. Each bird or pair of birds will es tab l ish a feed i ng ter ri tory and, for the most part, re main within that ter ri tory. There may be some sea sonal move ments, but there is a lack of clear data on the sub ject other than the fact that some Mediter ranean pop u la tions win ter on the isle of Cyprus. Each bird or pair usua lly stays very near to its per ma nent ter ri tory, how e ver some por t ion of the pop u la tion must wan der as the birds have reached re mote is l ands in the In dian Ocean and have been found on off shore oil rigs. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983; "BirdGuides. Com", 1999; "2006 IUCN Red List of Threat e ned Species", 2006; Wells, 1999) Key Behaviors: arboreal ; flies ; diurnal ; motile ; sedentary ; solitary ; territorial Home Range
White-throated king fish e rs live alone or in pairs. In zones of great e st den sity birds may be sep a rated by only 100 me ters. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983; Wells, 1999)
Communication and Perception
White-throated King fish e rs are very vocal birds, their vo cal i za tions being char ac ter i zed as "a loud de fi ant http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Halcyon_smyrnensis/ 5/9
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rat tling laugh." Breed i ng males are the most noted for their calls.. They have sev e ral calls which in clude a sharp rep e ti tion of high pitched KRICH-KRICH tones of 2-4 kHz at a rate of 2-4 notes per sec ond. The par tic u l ar song of the White-throated King fisher is a very loud de scen i ng trill (2-3 kHz), com posed of speparate notes (10-11 per sec ond), which trail off in pitch and vol ume. Dur i ng the mat i ng sea son male White-throated King fish e rs ac com pany their near l ing con stant singing with a re peated brief dis play of the their white wing patches to in tim i date po ten tial ri vals. While perched atop a tree, fen ce post, or other vis i ble sta tion, the male will let out his dis tinc tive call, then flap his wings swiftly sev e ral times par al l el to the hori zon. The fe m ale White-throated King f isher also em ploys her wings for sig nalling dur i ng the breed i ng months. To sig nal that she is re cep tive, the fe male king fisher ap proaches the male, par tially opens her wings and per forms a shiv er i ng mo tion while let ting out a repet i tive click i ng call. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983; An der ton and Rass mussen, 2005) Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Food Habits White-throated king fish e rs are car niv o rous gen er al i sts that eat many or g an i sms, in clud i ng lo custs, crick e ts, bee tles, man tises, ants, ter mites, drag on flies, grasshop pers, Ocy pode and Paratel phusa crabs , scor pi ons, cen tipedes, Mabuya and Calotes lizards, mice, frogs, small perch i ng birds, and fish. In di vid u als hunt by fly i ng forth from an ob ser va tion post over clear ground or water to seize prey. Prey is often seized off the ground and then flown to the perch, where it is blud g eoned or stabbed be fore being swal l owed. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983) Primary Diet: carnivore ( eats terrestrial vertebrates , piscivore , insectivore , eats non-insect arthropods ) Animal Foods: birds ; mammals ; amphibians ; reptiles ; fish ; insects ; terrestrial non-insect arthropods ; aquatic crustaceans http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Halcyon_smyrnensis/ 6/9
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Predation Spe cific preda tors of white-throated king fish e rs have not been re ported. It seems rea son able to as sume that white-throated king fish e rs are sub ject to pre da tion by large birds of prey, and prob a bly snakes and ro dents while they are nest i ng.
Ecosystem Roles White-throated king fish e rs are medium-sized gen er al ist preda tors that feed on a wide va rie ty of small crea tures and help to keep var i ous pop u la tions in check. The lit er a ture does not list spe cific par a sites of Hal cyon smyr nen sis, or other or g ani sms that have spe cial mu tu al i s tic re la tion ships with this species. It seems pos si ble that white-throated king fish e rs are sub ject to par a sitism by pro tists of the genus Plas mod ium and it is al most cer tain that Haemo pro teus hal cy o nis (a blood par a site of other Hal cyon species) uses white-throated king fish e rs as hosts. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983) Com men sal/Par a sitic Species Haemo pro teus hal cy o nis
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
White-throated king fish e rs eat do mes tic and agri cul tural pests, in clud i ng both mam malian and in sect pests. Like many other gen er ali sts, these birds help con trol the pop u la tions of small ver te brates and in ver te brates that might oth erw ise do costly dam age to human works and food sup plies. (Ali and Rip l ey, 1983) Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
White-throated king fish e rs can often be found around fish dry i ng racks and may be come a nuis ance at or na men tal fish ponds and com mer cial hatch e ries. Though they also con tribute to con trol l ing agri cul tural pests, they can be con sid e red aqua cul ture pests. (Ali and Rip ley, 1983) Negative Impacts: crop pest
Conservation Status http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Halcyon_smyrnensis/ 7/9
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White-throated king fish e rs are listed as a species of least con cern on the IUCN Red List. Their large range and abun dance in com mon habit ats sug g ests they are not at cur rent con ser va tion risk. ("2006 IUCN Red List of Threat e ned Species", 2006)
IUCN Red List Least Concern
More information
US Migratory Bird US Federal List Act No special status No special status
CITES No special status
State of Michigan List No special status
Contributors Tanya Dewey (ed i tor), An i mal Di ver sity Web. John Mc Callen (au thor), Stan ford Uni ver sity, Terry Root (ed i tor, in struc tor), Stan ford Uni ver sity.
References In ter na tional Union for Con ser va tion of Na ture and Nat ural Re sources. 2006. "2006 IUCN Red List of Threat ened Species" (On-line). Ac cessed May 13, 2007 at h t t p : / / w w w . i u c n r e d l i s t . o r g / s e a r c h / d e t a i l s . p h p / 4 7 7 1 6 / a l l . BirdGuides. 1999. "BirdGuides. Com" (On-line). Ac cessed May 13, 2007 at h t t p : / / w w w . b i r d g u i d e s . c o m / h t m l / v i d l i b / s p e c i e s / H a l c y o n _ s m y r n e n s i s . h t m # . Ali, S., S. Rip l ey. 1983. Handb ook of the Birds of India and Pak istan Vol. 4. New York: Ox ford Uni ver sity Press. An der ton, J., P. Rass mussen. 2005. Birds of South Asia. The Rip ley Guide. Vols. 1 and 2. Barcelona: Smith son i an In sti tu tion and Lynx Edi cions. Wells, D. 1999. The Birds of the Thai-Malay Penin sula Vol. I . Bath: Aca d e mic Press. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Halcyon_smyrnensis/ 8/9
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To cite this page: McCallen, J. 2007. "Halcyon smyrnensis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 24, 2014 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Halcyon_smyrnensis/ Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control. U-M Gateway | U-M Museum of Zoology U-M Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 2012 Regents of the University of Michigan Report Error / Comment This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DUE0633095 and DRL-0628151. The ADW Team gratefully acknowledges their support.
