鮮豔的翠鳥是一類細小到中型的"佛法僧目"鳥類。他們是世界性分佈的,大多數種類在舊世界和澳大拉西亞被發現.Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australasia.
翠鳥可以作為一個家族"翠鳥科",或者分為"Alcedines"的三個家族,翠鳥科(河流翠鳥),Halcyonidae(樹翠鳥),和Cerylidae(水翠鳥).The group is treated either as a single family, Alcedinidae, or as a suborder Alcedines containing three families, Alcedinidae (river kingfishers), Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers), and Cerylidae (water kingfishers).
河流翠鳥Alcedinidae
樹翠鳥Halcyonidae
樹翠鳥Halcyonidae
翠鳥大約有90種。所有頭大,長身體,尖銳的嘴,腿短,尾巴粗短。兩性之間的差異不大,多數品種有鮮豔的羽毛。大多數物種分佈熱帶地區,在森林中只發現少數. There are roughly 90 species of kingfisher. All have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright plumage with little differences between the sexes. Most species are tropical in distribution, and a slight majority are found only in forests.
他們最喜歡捕食魚類,通常從高棲息處俯衝入水中捕食.
They consume a wide range of prey as well as fish, usually caught by swooping down from a perch.
他們的巢通常在河岸邊,是天然或人工做洞穴.
Like other members of their order they nest in cavities, usually tunnels dug into the natural or artificial banks in the ground.