Corythornis Explained

Corythornis is a genus of small African river kingfishers.

A molecular phylogenetic study of the alcedinine kingfishers published in 2007 found that the genera as then defined did not form monophyletic groups. The species were subsequently rearranged into four genera, with four species in the resurrected genus Corythornis.^[1] The genus had been introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848.^[2] The type species is the Príncipe kingfisher (Alcedo cristatus nais).^[3] Corythornis is the sister group to the genus Ispidina containing two small African kingfishers.

Species

The genus contains the following four species:^[4]

Further reading

• Book: Fry . C.H. . Fry . K. . 1992 . Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers . London . Chris Helm . 0-7136-8028-8 .

Notes and References

1. Moyle . R.G. . Fuchs . J. . Pasquet . E. . Marks . B.D. . 2007 . Feeding behavior, toe count, and the phylogenetic relationships among alcedinine kingfishers (Alcedininae) . Journal of Avian Biology . 38 . 3 . 317–326 . 10.1111/J.2007.0908-8857.03921.x .
2. Kaup . Johann Jakob . Johann Jakob Kaup . 1848 . Die Familie der Eisvögel (Alcedidae) . Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins für das Großherzogthum Hessen und Umgebung . 2 . 71–72 . 183221382 . German .
3. Book: Peters . James Lee . James L. Peters . 1945 . Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 5 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 175 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . 2016 . Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers . World Bird List Version 6.3 . International Ornithologists' Union . 25 September 2016 .