Alcedo is a genus of birds in the kingfisher subfamily Alcedininae. The genus was introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae.[1] The type species is the common kingfisher (Alcedo ispida, now Alcedo atthis ispida).[2] Alcedo is the Latin for "kingfisher".[3]
The genus contains the following eight species:[4]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcedo coerulescens | Indonesia. | ||
| Alcedo euryzona | Java | ||
| Alcedo peninsulae | Myanmar, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, southwestern Thailand and Borneo | ||
| Alcedo quadribrachys | Senegal and Gambia to west central Nigeria to Kenya, northwest Zambia and north Angola | ||
| Alcedo meninting | Blue-eared kingfisher | Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia | |
| Alcedo atthis | across Eurasia and North Africa | ||
| Alcedo semitorquata | Half-collared kingfisher | southern and eastern Africa. | |
| Alcedo hercules | China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bhutan in northeastern India, and a vagrant in Bangladesh and eastern Nepal | ||
Unlike many kingfishers, all members of Alcedo are specialist fish-eaters. They all have some blue feathers on their upper-parts and most species have a black bill.[5] Except for the cerulean kingfisher they all have some rufous in their plumage. The female generally has more red on the lower mandible than the male. The smallest species is the cerulean kingfisher which is around in length; much the largest is Blyth's kingfisher with a length of .