# Ceyx (bird)

Ceyx (/ˈsiːɪks/ SEE-icks) is an Old World genus of river kingfishers. These kingfishers are found from South East Asia to the Solomon Islands.
The genus was introduced by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799, and derives its name from the Greek myth of Alcyone and Ceyx. The type species is the black-backed dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca).
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 monophyletic genera. The little kingfisher, azure kingfisher, Bismarck kingfisher, southern silvery kingfisher and Indigo-banded kingfisher were moved from Alcedo to Ceyx. All except one of the birds in the reconstituted genus have three rather than the usual four toes. The exception is the Sulawesi dwarf kingfisher which retains a vestigial fourth toe.
The Moluccan dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx lepidus) was previous named the variable dwarf kingfisher and included 15 recognised subspecies. A genetic study published in 2013 found that most of the subspecies had substantially diverged from one another. The species was therefore split and 12 of the subspecies were promoted to species status. At the same time the name was changed from the variable dwarf kingfisher to the Moluccan dwarf kingfisher.
The two African species in the genus Ispidina were sometimes placed in this genus. Compared to the related species in the genus Alcedo they are more terrestrial.

## Species

There are 23 species in the genus:
Genus Ceyx – Lacépède, 1799 – twenty three species :
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
| Black-backed dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx erithaca (Linnaeus, 1758) Two subspecies C. e. erithaca (Linnaeus, 1758) C. e. macrocarus Oberholser, 1917 | Indian Subcontinent and Mainland Southeast Asia. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
| Rufous-backed dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx rufidorsa Strickland, 1847 Five subspecies C. r. rufidorsa Strickland, 1847 C. r. motleyi Chasen & Kloss, 1929 C. r. captus Ripley, 1941 C. r. jungei Ripley, 1942 C. r. vargasi Manuel, 1939 | Southeast Asia. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Philippine dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx melanurus (Kaup, 1848) Three subspecies C. m. melanurus (Kaup, 1848) C. m. samarensis Steere, 1890 C. m. mindanensis Steere, 1890 | Philippines (Luzon, Polillo Islands, Catanduanes, Basilan, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao.) | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU |
| Celebes forest kingfisher, blue-crowned kingfisher, Celebes dwarf-kingfisher, and Celebes pygmy-kingfisher. | Ceyx fallax (Schlegel, 1866) | Sulawesi island, Indonesia. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Sangihe dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx sangirensis (Meyer, AB & Wiglesworth, 1898) | Sangihe Islands, Indonesia. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | CR |
| Moluccan dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx lepidus Temminck, 1836 Two subspecies C. l. uropygialis - Gray, GR, 1861 C. l. lepidus - Temminck, 1836 | the Moluccas | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Dimorphic dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx margarethae Blasius, W, 1890 | File:Moluccan Dwarf-Kingfisher 0A2A4033.jpg | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Sula dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx wallacii Sharpe, 1868 | Sula Islands in Indonesia. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Buru dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx cajeli (Wallace, 1863) | Buru Island in Indonesia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
| Papuan dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx solitarius Temminck, 1836 | New Guinea, Aru Islands and the D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Manus dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx dispar Rothschild & Hartert, 1914 | Admiralty Islands | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
| New Ireland dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx mulcatus Rothschild & Hartert, 1914 | New Hanover Island, New Ireland and the Lihir Islands | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| New Britain dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx sacerdotis Ramsay, EP, 1882 | New Britain and Umboi Island. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| North Solomons dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx meeki Rothschild, 1901 Two subspecies C. m. meeki - Rothschild, 1901 C. m. pallidus - Mayr, 1935 | west and central Solomon Islands | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| New Georgia dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx collectoris (Rothschild & Hartert, 1901) | west central Solomon Islands | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Guadalcanal dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx nigromaxilla (Rothschild & Hartert, 1905) Two subspecies C. n. malaitae - Mayr, 1935 C. n. nigromaxilla | Guadalcanal Island. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Makira dwarf kingfisher | Ceyx gentianus Tristram, 1879 | Makira Island | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Indigo-banded kingfisher | Ceyx cyanopectus Lafresnaye, 1840 Two subspecies C. c. cyanopectus - Lafresnaye, 1840 C. c. nigrirostris - Bourns & Worcester, 1894 | Philippines (Luzon, Mindoro, Masbate and the Western Visayas) | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Southern silvery kingfisher | Ceyx argentatus Tweeddale, 1877 | Philippines (Mindanao and Basilan.) | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
| Northern silvery kingfisher | Ceyx flumenicola Steere, 1890 | Philippines (the Visayas on the islands of Bohol, Leyte and Samar.) | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
| Azure kingfisher | Ceyx azureus (Latham, 1801) Seven subspecies C. a. azureus Latham, 1801 C. a. ruficollaris (Bankier, 1841) C. a. diemenensis (Gould, 1846) C. a. lessonii (Cassin, 1850) C. a. affinis (G.R. Gray, 1860) C. a. yamdenae (Rothschild, 1901) C. a. ochrogaster (Reichenow, 1903) | northern and eastern Australia and Tasmania, as well as the lowlands of New Guinea | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Bismarck kingfisher | Ceyx websteri (Hartert, 1898) | Papua New Guinea. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU |
| Little kingfisher | Ceyx pusillus Temminck, 1836 Nine subspecies C. p. halmaherae Salomonsen, 1934 C. p. pusillus Temminck, 1836 C. p. laetior Rand, 1941 C. p. masauji Mathews, 1941 C. p. bougainvillei Ogilvie-Grant (, 1914) C. p. richardsi Tristam, 1882 C. p. aolae Ogilvie-Grant, 1914 C. p. ramsayi North, 1912 C. p. halli Mathews, 1912 | Australia (northern Queensland and coastal Northern Territory), Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |