色彩豔麗的小美禽——翠鳥Kingfisher

Kingfishers are a group of small to medium-sized brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found outside of the Americas. 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).

翠鳥是指佛法僧目下的一類體型中小、羽毛顏色豔麗的鳥類。它們具有世界分布的特點，絕大多數的種類分布在舊大陸和澳大利亞。「翠鳥」既可指單一的翠鳥科（Alcedinidae），又可指包含有翠鳥科（Alcedinidae）（河邊翠鳥）、翡翠科（Halcyonidae）（樹上翠鳥）和魚狗科（Cerylidae）（水邊翠鳥）三科的翠鳥亞目（Alcedines）。

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. They consume a wide range of prey as well as fish, usually caught by swooping down from a perch. While kingfishers are usually thought to live near rivers and eat fish, most of the kingfisher species in the world live away from water and eat small invertebrates. Like other members of their order they nest in cavities, usually tunnels dug into the natural or artificial banks in the ground. A quarter of all kingfishers nest in disused termite nests. A few species, principally insular forms, are threatened with extinction. In Britain, the word 'kingfisher' normally refers to the common kingfisher.

翠鳥大約有90種，其共同的特點是：頭部較大、喙部長而銳利且末段尖銳、兩腿短小、尾羽短粗。絕大多數種類均有較為豔麗的羽毛，但兩性之間略有差異。絕大多數種類分布在熱帶地區，極少數種類只能在森林裡發現。它們的獵物種類繁多，通常會從棲木上猛撲以捕捉魚類。

現存的翠鳥全部列入《世界自然保護聯盟》（IUCN） 2013年瀕危物種紅色名錄ver 3.1。

The centre of kingfisher diversity is the Australasian region, but the group is not thought to have originated there. Instead, they evolved in the Northern Hemisphere and invaded the Australasian region a number of times.Fossil kingfishers have been described from Lower Eocene rocks in Wyoming and Middle Eocene rocks in Germany, around 30–40 million years ago. More recent fossil kingfishers have been described in the Miocene rocks of Australia (5–25 million years old). Several fossil birds have been erroneously ascribed to the kingfishers, including Halcyornis, from the Lower Eocene rocks in Kent, which has also been considered a gull, but is now thought to have been a member of an extinct family.

Amongst the three families the Alcedinidae are basal to the other two families. The few species found in the Americas, all from the family Cerylidae, suggest that the sparse representation in the western hemisphere resulted from just two original colonising species. The family is a comparatively recent split from the Halcyonidae, diversifying in the Old World as recently as the Miocene or Pliocene.

翠鳥們分布於歐亞大陸及非洲北部（包括整個歐洲、北回歸線以北的非洲地區、阿拉伯半島以及喜馬拉雅山－橫斷山脈－岷山－秦嶺－淮河以北的亞洲地區。）；非洲中南部地區（包括阿拉伯半島的南部、撒哈拉沙漠（北回歸線）以南的整個非洲大陸。），印度次大陸及中國的西南地區（包括印度、孟加拉、不丹、錫金、尼泊爾、巴基斯擔、斯裡蘭卡、馬爾地夫以及中國西藏的東南部地區等。）；中南半島和中國的東南沿海地區（包括緬甸、越南、寮國、柬埔寨、泰國以及中國的東南沿海地區、香港、海南島。）；太平洋諸島嶼（包括中國的臺灣省、東沙群島、西沙群島、中沙群島、南沙群島以及菲律賓、汶萊、馬來西亞、新加坡、印度尼西亞的蘇門答臘、爪哇島以及巴布亞紐幾內亞。）；華萊士區（指傳統的華萊士線（從棉蘭老島的東側海域經望加錫海峽至峇里島與龍目島之間）以東、巴布亞紐幾內亞以西的區域，包括印度尼西亞的蘇拉威西島、努沙登加拉群島、西南群島、摩鹿加群島（馬魯古群島）、東帝汶等島嶼。）；印度洋（包括馬達加斯加群島及其附近島嶼）。

為中國的東北、華北、華中、華南、西南以及海南、臺灣的常見留鳥。

翠鳥們常棲息於有灌叢或疏林、水清澈而緩流的小河、溪澗、湖泊以及灌溉渠等水域。性孤獨，平時常獨棲在近水邊的樹枝上或巖石上，伺機獵食，食物以小魚為主，兼吃甲殼類和多種水生昆蟲及其幼蟲，也啄食小型蛙類和少量水生植物。翠鳥扎入水中後，還能保持極佳的視力，因為它的眼睛進入水中後，能迅速調整水中因為光線造成的視角反差。所以捕魚本領很強。

Kingfishers feed on a wide variety of items. They are most famous for hunting and eating fish, and some species do specialise in catching fish, but other species take crustaceans, frogs and other amphibians, annelid worms, molluscs, insects, spiders, centipedes, reptiles (including snakes) and even birds and mammals. Individual species may specialise in a few items or take a wide variety of prey, and for species with large global distributions different populations may have different diets. Woodland and forest kingfishers take mainly insects, particularly grasshoppers, whereas the water kingfishers are more specialised in taking fish.

翠鳥捕食各種各樣的物品，最著名的是捕魚，有些品種專門捕魚，其他品種也捕食甲殼類動物，青蛙等兩棲類動物，環節動物蠕蟲，軟體動物，昆蟲，蜘蛛，蜈蚣，爬行動物（包括蛇），甚至鳥類和哺乳動物。林地和森林翠鳥主要獵取昆蟲，特別是蚱蜢，而水翠鳥們專業捕魚。

The red-backed kingfisher has been observed hammering into the mud nests of fairy martins to feed on their nestlings.Kingfishers usually hunt from an exposed perch, when a prey item is observed the kingfisher swoops down to snatch it, then returns to the perch. Kingfishers of all three families beat larger prey on a perch in order to kill the prey and to dislodge or break protective spines and bones. Having beaten the prey it is manipulated and then swallowed.The shovel-billed kookaburra uses its massive wide bill as a shovel in order to dig for worms in soft mud.

翠鳥能用它的粗壯大嘴在土崖壁上穿穴為巢，也營巢于田野堤壩的隧道中，洞底一般不加鋪墊物，卵直接產在巢穴地上。每窩產卵6-7枚。卵色純白，輝亮，稍具斑點,大小約28毫米×18毫米,每年1-2窩；孵化期約21天，雌雄共同孵卵，但只由雌鳥餵雛。中國南方的翠鳥繁殖期為每年4-7月。

Kingfishers are territorial, some species defending their territories vigorously. They are generally monogamous, although cooperative breeding has been observed in some species. In a few species cooperative breeding is quite common,for example the laughing kookaburra, where helpers aid the dominant breeding pair in raising the young.

翠鳥們是很有領地意識的鳥類，一些品種會捍衛自己的領土。大多數翠鳥都是一夫一妻制的，雖然有一些品種也會集體養育幼鳥，比如笑翠鳥。

下面帶大家來認識些非常漂亮的翠鳥品種

The rufous-backed kingfisher (Ceyx rufidorsa) is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family. It is found in Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand in tropical lowlandforests near lakeshores and streamsides. The small bird is solitary and hunts from a low perch over the water by diving for insects and frogs. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Oriental dwarf kingfisher.

紅褐色帶狀翠鳥屬於翠鳥科，它存在於汶萊，印度，印度尼西亞，馬來西亞，菲律賓和泰國的湖岸和溪邊附近的熱帶低林。這種小鳥是孤獨的，並在低處狩獵，從水中獵取昆蟲和青蛙。它有時被認為是三趾翠鳥的一個亞種。

The stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis) (formerly Halcyon capensis), is a tree kingfisher which is widely but sparsely distributed in the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India to Indonesia. This kingfisher is essentially resident throughout its range.

鸛嘴翠鳥是一種樹翠鳥，廣泛但稀疏地分布在熱帶印度次大陸和東南亞，從印度到印尼。這翠鳥是其範圍內主要居民。

This is a very large kingfisher, measuring 35 to 38 cm (14 to 15 in) in length. The adult has a green back, blue wings and tail, and grey head. Its underparts and neck are buff. The very large bill and legs are bright red. The flight of the stork-billed kingfisher is laboured and flapping, but direct. Sexes are similar. There are 15 races, mostly differing in plumage detail, but P. c. gigantea of the Sulu Islands has a white head, neck and underparts. The call of this noisy kingfisher is a low and far reaching peer-por-por repeated every 5 seconds or so as well cackling ke-ke-ke-ke-ke-ke.

這是一種非常大的翠鳥，測量長度35至38釐米。成鳥有一個綠色的背面，藍色的翅膀和尾巴和灰頭。鸛嘴翠鳥的飛行很吃力，直線型。

這種翠鳥捕獵魚類，青蛙，螃蟹，老鼠和幼鳥。

Stork-billed kingfisher is a species of a variety of well-wooded habitats near lakes, rivers or coasts. It perches quietly whilst seeking food, and is often inconspicuous despite its size. It is territorial and will chase away eagles and other large predators. This species hunts fish, frogs, crabs, rodents and young birds.

The malachite kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus) is a river kingfisher which is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. It is largely resident except for seasonal climate related movements.

孔雀石翠鳥（也叫冠翠鳥）屬於河邊翠鳥是廣泛分布在撒哈拉以南非洲的，是非洲最常見的翠鳥之一，體長13釐米，體重12-18克。

This is a small kingfisher, 13 centimetres (5.1 in) in length. The general colour of the upper parts of the adult bird is bright metallic blue. The head has a short crest of black and blue feathers, which gives rise to the scientific name. The face, cheeks and underparts are rufous and there are white patches on the throat and rear neck sides.

冠翠鳥的樣子也很像是普通翠鳥，不過體形略小，嘴為紅色而不是黑色，頭上的羽毛可以豎起成冠狀，因而得名。頂冠的羽毛呈黑色和淡藍色或藍綠色，雜有白點。臉頰至咽喉顯示紅色，在下巴和喉嚨到脖子上有白色斑。上頸部其他地方是亮群青藍色。胸部，兩翼，下腹部和尾有非常深的紅顏色。嘴紅色，虹膜深褐色，紅橙色的腿。

The bill is black in young birds and reddish orange in adults; the legs are bright red. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are a duller version of the adult.

Belted Kingfisher 束帶翠鳥

The belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) is a large, conspicuous water kingfisher, the only member of that group commonly found in the northern United States and Canada. It is depicted on the 1986 series Canadian $5 note. All kingfishers were formerly placed in one family, Alcedinidae, but recent research suggests that this should be divided into three. All six New World kingfishers, together with three Old World species, make up the new family Cerylidae.

束帶翠鳥是一種大型的，顯眼的水翠鳥，是該物種在美國北部和加拿大常見的唯一成員。它被描繪在1986年的加幣5元票面上。所有的翠鳥以前都被放置在一個科目——翠鳥科內，但最近的研究表明，這應該分為三種。所有六種新世界翠鳥，再加上三個舊世界的物種，組成了新的家庭Cerylidae（水邊翠鳥）。

該翠鳥的成年公母特徵區別很大

Adult male 成年公鳥

Adult female 成年母鳥

普通翠鳥（學名：Alcedo atthis），是最典型常見的一種翠鳥。生活於海濱一帶及水道沿岸。廣泛分布於歐亞大陸、東南亞、印度尼西亞至紐幾內亞。其中，臺灣可見其蹤跡，在中國大陸則分布在海南、東北、華東、華中、華南及西南地區。

The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) also known as Eurasian kingfisher, or river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.

This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptions to enable it to see prey under water. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank.

留鳥。常單獨活動，一般多停息在河邊樹樁和巖石上，有時也在臨近河邊小樹的低枝上停息。經常長時間一動不動地注視著水面，一見水中魚蝦，立即以極為迅速而兇猛的姿勢扎入水中用嘴捕取。有時亦鼓動兩翼懸浮於空中，低頭注視著水面，見有食物即刻直扎入水中，很快捕獲而去。通常將獵物帶回棲息地，在樹枝上或石頭上摔打，待魚死後，再整條吞食。有時也沿水面低空直線飛行，飛行速度甚快，常邊飛邊叫。

普通翠鳥（學名：Alcedo atthis）：小型鳥類，體長16-17釐米，翼展24-26釐米，體重40-45克，壽命15年。外形和斑頭大翠鳥相似。但體型較小，體色較淡，耳覆羽棕色，翅和尾較藍，下體較紅褐，耳後有一白斑。雌鳥上體羽色較雄鳥稍淡，多藍色，少綠色。頭頂不為綠黑色而呈灰藍色。胸、腹棕紅色，但較雄鳥為淡，且胸無灰色。幼鳥羽色較蒼淡，上體較少藍色光澤，下體羽色較淡，沾較多褐色，腹中央汙白色。

The Amazon kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona) is a resident breeding bird in the lowlands of the American tropics from southern Mexico south through Central America to northern Argentina, with at least one bird having strayed north to Texas. Records from Trinidad are thought to be erroneous.

亞馬遜翠鳥，是墨西哥南部至中美洲阿根廷北部美洲熱帶地區的低地鳥類，這種大型翠鳥的繁殖是條狀的，巢穴在河床地帶水平隧道裡，長至1.6米，10釐米寬。母鳥會下三個有時候四個白色的蛋。

This large kingfisher breeds by streams. The unlined nest is in a horizontal tunnel made in a river bank, and up to 1.6 m long and 10 cm wide. The female lays three, sometimes four, white eggs.

母鳥和公鳥顏色略有不同

公鳥有個褐色的胸部。

The brown-headed paradise kingfisher (Tanysiptera danae), also known as the russet paradise kingfisher, is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

棕頭天堂翠鳥也被稱為赤褐色天堂翠鳥，屬翠鳥科。它是巴布亞紐幾內亞地區的鳥類，自然棲息地是溫帶森林和亞熱帶或熱帶潮溼低地森林。

The buff-breasted paradise-kingfisher (Tanysiptera sylvia) is a bird in the tree kingfisher family, Halcyonidae. It is native to Australia, New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago and migrates in November from New Guinea to its breeding grounds in the rainforest of North Queensland, Australia. Like all paradise-kingfishers, this bird has colourful plumage with a red bill, buff breast and distinctive long tail streamers.

黃胸天堂翠鳥屬於樹翠鳥家族，Halcyonidae。它原產於澳大利亞，紐幾內亞和俾斯麥群島，每年11月從紐幾內亞遷移到北昆士蘭州，澳大利亞的雨林中的繁殖地。像所有的天堂翠鳥一樣，這種鳥有著五顏六色的羽毛和紅色的嘴，淺黃色的胸部，和獨特的長尾巴飄帶。

The pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is a water kingfisher and is found widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Its black and white plumage, crest and the habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish makes it distinctive. Males have a double band across the breast while females have a single gorget that is often broken in the middle. They are usually found in pairs or small family parties. When perched, they often bob their head and flick up their tail.

吹笛翠鳥是一種水翠鳥，被發現廣泛分布在非洲和亞洲。其黑色和白色的羽毛，雞冠和捕魚前在清澈的湖泊和河流上懸停，使得它與眾不同。公鳥有著橫跨胸部的雙帶條紋，而母鳥有一個單一的護喉帶。它們通常成雙結對，也有小小的家庭聚會。

翠鳥的品種太多了，形態各異，我們再挑一個最奇怪的例子來介紹吧，那就是下圖最右邊的巨型笑翠鳥。

The laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is a carnivorous bird in the kingfisher family Halcyonidae. Native to eastern Australia, it has also been introduced to parts of New Zealand, Tasmania and Western Australia. Male and female adults are similar in plumage, which is predominantly brown and white. A common and familiar bird, this species of kookaburra is well known for its laughing call.

笑翠鳥（學名Dacelo novaeguineae），是澳大利亞的一種鳥類，鳴聲很像人類狂笑的聲音而稱笑翠鳥。笑翠鳥屬於翠鳥科，腹部灰白交間，長尾，喙大而有力，喜歡吃老鼠以及類似大小的哺乳動物、大昆蟲、蜥蜴、小鳥和蛇。

小baby的時候很萌啊

肯定在嘎嘎嘎狂笑ing

為林地留鳥。是體形最大的森林翠鳥，和大魚狗同為體形最大的兩種翠鳥之一。笑翠鳥的主食是小動物：蛇、蜥蜴與昆蟲。以能捕捉蛇類而著稱，其捕蛇的能力非常高超，曾經發現它們捕捉到大到自己吃不了的蛇類。整年保護自己的領域。因為笑翠鳥的鳴叫在凌晨或日落時可以聽到，故有「林中居民的時鐘」之稱。

笑翠鳥被認為是澳洲的標誌性鳥類之一，在雪梨奧運會上被當作吉祥物。

笑翠鳥常常在遭白蟻破壞的中空的樹中築巢。雌雄成年鳥會互相幫助，照顧好年幼的笑翠鳥。它們極其注重「家庭觀念」，並常常和伴侶「白頭到老」。

笑翠鳥出生率低、壽命長，一般都能存活二十年左右。成年笑翠鳥通常會花費很長的時間來哺育幼鳥直到它能夠獨立生活為止，因而一個季節最多產下一窩雛鳥。

儘管同屬幼鳥之間可能出現爭奪，但長大後的笑翠鳥通常會盡力幫助成年笑翠鳥撫養下一代的幼鳥，使整個家庭仍然緊密維繫在一起。

那麼關於美麗的翠鳥屬，今天就介紹到這裡，大家有感興趣的可以自己慢慢去了解，看到漂亮的小鳥要珍惜，因為不知道什麼時候它們就會消失不見了。

2016年，魔女屋LYL在廣大付費真愛粉的支持下已經維持了整整兩年幾乎每天推送更新的狀態，實屬不易！

今年我們還會繼續和大家分享大千世界的美妙和精彩。

付費真愛粉們將繼續接收每日至少兩篇的新鮮內容，免費用戶每周可以收到的內容大概是三篇文章左右，每周日我們將會開放《以畫會友》的互動環節。

付費標準：50元／年，VIP會員身份到2016年12月31日截止。

付費方法：1: 微信轉帳支付（此方法首先需要你的微信已經綁定了銀行卡，然後添加魔女藍私人微信號：lemonkono，添加時請註明「魔女屋付費」，非誠勿擾。）

2: 支付寶支付：支付寶帳號為 [e-mail]（支付之後請在魔女屋LYL公眾號裡回復支付帳號以便我們核對之後添加分組）

目前微信真愛粉群只接受三年以上付費會員的加入，請大家注意。