Shining-blue kingfisher

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Shining-blue kingfisher
Shining-blue kingfisher (Alcedo quadribrachys quadribrachys) Ankasa 3.jpg
Alcedo quadribrachys quadribrachys
Ghana
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Subfamily: Alcedininae
Genus: Alcedo
Species:
A. quadribrachys
Binomial name
Alcedo quadribrachys
Bonaparte, 1850

The shining-blue kingfisher (Alcedo quadribrachys) is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is found in Equatorial Africa.

The shining-blue kingfisher was described of by the French ornithologist Charles Lucian Bonaparte in 1850 and given its current binomial name Alcedo quadribrachys. [2] [3] The name Alcedo is the Latin word for a "kingfisher". The specific epithet quadribrachys is from the Latin quadri- for "four" and brachium meaning "arms" or in this case "toes". [4] The shining-blue kingfisher is one of seven species in the genus Alcedo and is most closely related to the half-collared kingfisher (Alcedo semitorquata). [5] [6]

There are two subspecies: [5]

Subspecies A. q. quadribrachys (top) and A. q. guentheri (bottom); illustration by Keulemans, 1892 AlcedoKeulemans.jpg
Subspecies A. q. quadribrachys (top) and A. q. guentheri (bottom); illustration by Keulemans, 1892

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References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Alcedo quadribrachys". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22683037A92974387. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683037A92974387.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 175.
  3. Bonaparte, Charles Lucian (1850). Conspectus Generum Avium (in Latin). Vol. 1. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 158.
  4. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  40, 328. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 7.3. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  6. 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 .