Water Kingfisher
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? Water Kingfishers |
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 Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)
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Genera
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| Megaceryle Ceryle Chloroceryle |
The water kingfishers or Cerylidae are one of the three families of kingfishers, and are also known as the cerylid kingfishers. All six American species are in this family.
These are all specialist fish-eating species, unlike many representatives of the other two families, and it is likely that they are all descended from a fish-eating Alcedinid kingfisher which crossed the Bering Straits to the New World to give rise to the giant kingfishers, Megaceryle, and the American green kingfishers Chloroceryle.
About 2.5 million years ago, a giant kingfisher crossed the Atlantic Ocean to become the ancestor of the Giant and Crested Kingfishers, and about 1 million years ago a green kingfisher followed to evolve into the Pied Kingfisher.
There are 9 water kingfisher species in three genera:
- The four large crested kingfishers, Megaceryle, have a wide distribution in Africa, Asia and America. The Belted Kingfisher, M. alcyon, is the only kingfisher that is widespread in North America, though two of the tropical American species range as far north as Texas and Arizona.
- Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima)
- Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris)
- Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
- Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata)
- The Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis), the only member of Ceryle, is widespread in the tropical regions of the Old World.
- The four American green kingfishers (Chloroceryle) of tropical America.
- Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona)
- Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana)
- Green-and-rufous Kingfisher (Chloroceryle inda)
- American Pygmy Kingfisher (Chloroceryle aenea)