Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher

About the Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher

The black-backed dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca), also known as the three-toed kingfisher, is a pocket-sized bird in the family Alcedinidae. It was formerly considered as conspecific with the rufous-backed dwarf kingfisher and together the species complex was known by the English name "oriental dwarf kingfisher".

This tropical kingfisher is a partial migrant that is endemic to parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Mainland Southeast Asia. It resides in lowland forests, typically near streams or ponds, where it feeds upon insects, spiders, worms, crabs, fish, frogs, and lizards. It is easily distinguishable from other birds in its range due to its red bill, yellow-orange underparts, lilac-rufous upperparts, and blue-black back.

The black-backed kingfisher was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other kingfishers in the genus Alcedo and coined the binomial name Alcedo erithaca. The specific epithet is from Latin erithacus meaning "robin" and hence "red-breasted". Linnaeus based his account on "The small kingfisher from Bengall" that had been described and illustrated... Wikipedia →