Little Kingfisher

SCI Name:  Ceyx pusillus
Protonym:  Ceyx pusilla Pl.Col. livr.100 pl.595 fig.3
Taxonomy:  Coraciiformes / Alcedinidae / Ceyx
Taxonomy Code:  litkin1
Type Locality:  Lobo Bay, New Guinea.
Author:  Temminck
Publish Year:  1836
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

CEYX
(Alcedinidae; Ϯ Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher C. erithaca) L. ceyx, ceycis  seabird variously identified  < Gr. κηυξ kēux, κηυκος kēukos  seabird mentioned by Dionysius and Lucian, and considered identical to the halcyon. In Gr. myth. Ceyx, blasphemous husband to Alcyone, was drowned at sea and metamorphosed into a kingfisher along with his desolated wife when she found his body washed up on the shore; "62. CÉYX.  Ceyx.  { Le bec très-long; la langue courte; le tarse très-court; chaque pied ne présentant que trois doigts." (de Lacépède 1799); "Ceyx Lacépède, Tabl. Ois., 1799, p. 10. Type, by monotypy, Alcedo tridactyla Pallas = Alcedo erithaca Linné (species added, Daudin, in Buffon, Hist. Nat. (éd Didot), 14, 1802, p. 287.)" (Peters, 1945, V, p. 178).
Var. Ceix, Ceux, Ceycis.
Synon. Alcyon, Argyroceyx, Ceycalcyon, Ceycopsis, Cyanoceyx, Micralcyone, Therosa.

pusillum / pusillus
L. pusillus  tiny, very small  < dim. pusus  little boy  < puer  boy.
● ex “Chevechette” of Levaillant 1799, pl. 46 (syn. Glaucidium passerinum).
● ex “Petit Guêpier du Sénégal” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 318 (Merops).
● ex “Barbion” of Levaillant 1806 (Pogoniulus).
● ex "Lesser Black Promerops" of Latham 1822 (syn. Scoptelus aterrimus).
● ex “Sucrion” of Levaillant 1812, pl. 298 (Cinnyris artefact).

SUBSPECIES

Little Kingfisher (pusillus)
SCI Name: Ceyx pusillus pusillus
pusillum / pusillus
L. pusillus  tiny, very small  < dim. pusus  little boy  < puer  boy.
● ex “Chevechette” of Levaillant 1799, pl. 46 (syn. Glaucidium passerinum).
● ex “Petit Guêpier du Sénégal” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 318 (Merops).
● ex “Barbion” of Levaillant 1806 (Pogoniulus).
● ex "Lesser Black Promerops" of Latham 1822 (syn. Scoptelus aterrimus).
● ex “Sucrion” of Levaillant 1812, pl. 298 (Cinnyris artefact).

Little Kingfisher (laetior)
SCI Name: Ceyx pusillus laetior
laetior
L. laetior, laetioris  more bright  < comp. laetus  bright, rich.

Little Kingfisher (ramsayi)
SCI Name: Ceyx pusillus ramsayi
ramsayi
● Col. Robert George Wardlaw Ramsay (1852-1921) British Army in India and Burma 1872-1882, President of BOU 1913-1918 (Actinodura, syn. Cyornis banyumas lemprieri, Picoides, subsp. Psilopogon franklinii, subsp. Trochalopteron melanostigma).
● Dr Edward Pierson Ramsay (1842-1916) Australian zoologist, Curator of Australian Mus., Sydney 1874-1894 (syn. Burhinus grallarius, subsp. Ceyx pusillus, syn. Daphoeonositta chrysoptera, subsp. Lonchura castaneothorax (ex Donacola nigriceps Ramsay, 1877), subsp. Myzomela pammelaena, syn. Petroica goodenovii, syn. Ramsayornis modestus (ex Gliciphila subfasciata Ramsay, 1868), syn. Todiramphus sanctus, syn. Zosterops lateralis vegetus, syn. Zosterops rendovae).

Little Kingfisher (halli)
SCI Name: Ceyx pusillus halli
hallae / halli
● Beryl Patricia Hall née Woodhouse (1917-2010) English ornithologist, collector (subsp. Acrocephalus scirpaceus, subsp. Alophoixus ochraceus, syn. Anthus similis dewittei, subsp. Chamaetylas poliocephala, subsp. Cisticola fulvicapilla, syn. Eurillas virens, syn. Sheppardia bocagei chapini).
● Robert Hall (1867-1949) Australian ornithologist, President of the RAOU 1912-1913 (subsp. Aptenodytes patagonicus, subsp. Ceyx pusillus, Macronectes, subsp. Mirafra javanica, syn. Neophema splendida).
● Maj. Harold Wesley Hall (1888-1964) Australian marine researcher, philanthropist (Pomatostomus).

Little Kingfisher (masauji)
SCI Name: Ceyx pusillus masauji
masauji
Masauji Marquis Hachisuka (1903-1953) Japanese ornithologist (subsp. Ceyx pusillus).

Little Kingfisher (bougainvillei)
SCI Name: Ceyx pusillus bougainvillei
bougainvillei
Bougainville I., Solomon Is.

Little Kingfisher (halmaherae)
SCI Name: Ceyx pusillus halmaherae
halmaheira / halmahera / halmaherae
Halmahera, Moluccas.

Little Kingfisher (richardsi)
SCI Name: Ceyx pusillus richardsi
richardsi / richardsii
• Adm. Sir George Henry Richards (1820-1896) Royal Navy, hydrographer, donor, and his son, Lt. later Rear-Adm. George Edward Richards (1852-1927) Royal Navy, surveyor, collector in the East Indies (subsp. Ceyx pusillus, subsp. Dryocopus javensis, syn. Ducula rubricera rufigula, Monarcha, Ptilinopus).
• Guy Richards (1905-1979) US ornithologist, journalist, explorer (Martin Schneider in litt.) (Pachycephala).

Little Kingfisher (aolae)
SCI Name: Ceyx pusillus aolae
aolae
Aola, Guadalcanal, Solomon Is.