:"Pelargopsis" was also invalidly given to '' Pelargopappus'', a genus of

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

secretarybird The secretarybird or secretary bird (''Sagittarius serpentarius'') is a large bird of prey that is Endemism, endemic to Africa. It is mostly terrestrial, spending most of its time on the ground, and is usually found in the open grasslands and s ...

s. ''Pelargopsis'' is a genus of

tree kingfisher The tree kingfishers, also called wood kingfishers or Halcyoninae, are the most numerous of the three family (biology), subfamilies of birds in the kingfisher family, with around 70 species divided into 12 genus, genera, including several specie ...

s that are resident in tropical south Asia from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia. The genus was introduced by the German zoologist Constantin Gloger in 1841. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

is a subspecies of the stork-billed kingfisher ''Pelargopsis capensis javana''. The word ''Pelargopsis '' is derived from the classical Greek ''pelargos'' meaning "stork" and ''opsis'' meaning "appearance".

Species

The genus contains three species: These three

kingfisher Kingfishers are a 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, ...

s were previously placed in the genus '' Halcyon''. These are large kingfishers, in length. They have very large red or black bills and bright red legs. The head and underparts of these species are white or buff, and the wings and back are darker, coloured variously in green and blue, brown or black depending on species. The sexes are similar. The flight of the ''Pelargopsis'' kingfishers is flapping, but direct. ''Pelargopsis'' kingfishers inhabit a variety of well-wooded habitats near lakes, rivers, estuaries or coasts. They perch quietly whilst seeking food, and are often inconspicuous despite their size. They are territorial and will chase away

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

s and other large predators. These species hunts

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

s, and in the case of stork-billed at least,

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s and young birds. ''Pelargopsis'' kingfishers excavate their nests in a river bank, decaying tree, or a tree

termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

nest and lay round white eggs.

References

Sources

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q383275 Bird genera Birds of Southeast Asia