brown-hooded kingfisher
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Brown-hooded kingfisher
| image = Male Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Halcyon albiventris caught a wasp, Tzaneen area, Limpopo, South Africa (14710550180).jpg
| image_caption =
| image2 = Brown-hooded Kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris) (W1CDR0000937 BD14).ogg
| image2_caption = Calls recorded in northern South Africa
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| display_parents = 2
| taxon = Halcyon albiventris
| authority = (Scopoli, 1786)
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision_ref = Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.2). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2.
| subdivision =
- H. a. albiventris - (Scopoli, 1786)
- H. a. orientalis - Peters, W, 1868
- H. a. prentissgrayi - Bowen, 1930
- H. a. vociferans - Clancey, 1952
| synonyms =
}}
The brown-hooded kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris) is a species of bird in the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It has a brown head and blackish and turquoise wings. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, living in woodland, scrubland, forest edges, and also suburban areas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern.
Taxonomy
This species was described as Alcedo albiventris by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1786.{{cite book |last1=Scopoli |first1=Giovanni Antonio |title=Deliciae florae et faunae insubricae |date=1786 |volume=part 2 |page=90 |url=http://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/ing/Libro.php?Libro=2427&Pagina=121 |language=la |access-date=2018-08-09 |archive-date=2018-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809090901/http://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/ing/Libro.php?Libro=2427&Pagina=121 |url-status=dead }} Four subspecies are recognised: Halcyon albiventris albiventris, H. a. orientalis, H. a. prentissgrayi and H. a. vociferans.{{cite web |editor1-last=Gill |editor1-first=F. |editor2-last=Donsker |editor2-first=D. |title=Rollers, ground rollers, kingfishers |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/rollers/ |website=IOC World Bird List Version 8.2 |access-date=9 August 2018}} Subspecies hylophila and erlangeri have also been described,{{cite journal |last1=Clancey |first1=P. A. |title=On the equatorial populations of Halcyon albiventris (Scopoli) |journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club |date=1986 |volume=106 |pages=78–79 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40085271}} but they are not considered distinct enough.{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Woodall |first1=P. F. |editor1-last=del Hoyo |editor1-first=J. |editor2-last=Elliott |editor2-first=A. |editor3-last=Sargatal |editor3-first=J. |editor4-last=Christie |editor4-first=D. A. |editor5-last=de Juana |editor5-first=E. |title=Brown-hooded Kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris) |url=https://www.hbw.com/species/brown-hooded-kingfisher-halcyon-albiventris |encyclopedia=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive |date=2020 |publisher=Lynx Edicions}}
Description
The brown-hooded kingfisher is about {{convert|22|cm|abbr=on}} long. The head is brown, with blackish streaks. There is a broad buffy collar above the brownish-black mantle. The wing coverts are mostly brownish-black, and the secondary flight feathers are turquoise. The rump is azure-blue. The chin is white, the breast is tawny with some dark streaks, and the belly is buffy. The beak is red, tipped brown, the legs are carmine, and the eyes are dark brown. The female has dark brown upperparts, and its underparts are more streaked than the male. The juvenile bird is duller, with scalloped whitish underparts. The subspecies differ in shade and streaking.{{cite book |last1=Fry |first1=C. Hilary |last2=Fry |first2=Kathie |title=Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers |date=2010 |orig-year=First published 1992 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9781408135259 |pages=152–153 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U_XUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA152}}
Distribution and habitat
This kingfisher is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, in Gabon, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini. It occurs below {{convert|1800|m|abbr=on}} in elevation, living in woodland, grassland with trees, scrubland, forest edge, and also cultivations, parks and gardens. It sometimes occurs near water, and can adapt to suburban habitats.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Clancey |first=P. A. |title=Brownhooded Kingfisher |url=https://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/435.pdf |encyclopedia=The Atlas of Southern African Birds |page=654}} Most populations do not migrate, but there is evidence of seasonal movements in some areas.
Behaviour
This kingfisher is generally seen alone or in pairs. It usually forages on the ground, mainly feeding on insects, and also eating scorpions, reptiles, small birds, rodents and fishes. Eating snakes and lizards as long as {{convert|25|cm|abbr=on}} has been reported.{{cite journal |last1=Kyle |first1=Robert |title=Reptiles as prey of the Brownhooded Kingfisher Halcyon albiventris at Kosi Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |journal=Ostrich |date=1997 |volume=68 |page=122 |doi=10.1080/00306525.1997.9639724}} The song, given while vibrating the wings, is a tiiiu or ki-ti-ti-ti trill, and a sharp cheerit is given when alarmed. The breeding season is mainly between September and April. A burrow nest is dug in a river bank, gully or road cutting. The family stays together for a few weeks after breeding.
Male Brown-hooded Kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris) in Pigeonwood tree.jpg|{{center|Male perched in tree}}
Juvenile Brown-hooded Kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris).jpg|{{center|Juvenile fresh from nest}}
Brown Hooded Kingfisher.jpg|{{center|Male at Pilanesberg GR}}
Bruinkopvisvanger.jpg|{{center|View of the upperparts}}
Status
This species has a large range, stable population and no substantial threats, so the IUCN has assessed it as a least-concern species.
References
{{Commons category|Halcyon albiventris}}
{{Wikispecies|Halcyon albiventris}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Halcyoninae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q790658}}