Syma

Syma is a genus of tree kingfishers in the family Alcedinidae that are resident in New Guinea and northeast Australia.

Syma
Yellow-billed kingfisher (Syma torotoro)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Alcedinidae
Subfamily:	Halcyoninae
Genus:	Syma Lesson, 1827
Type species
Syma torotoro[1] Lesson, 1827

The genus was introduced by the French surgeon and naturalist René Lesson in 1827.^[2] Syma was the name of a sea nymph in Greek mythology.^[3]

The genus contains two species:^[4]

Genus Syma – Lesson, 1827 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Mountain kingfisher	Syma megarhyncha Salvadori, 1896 Two subspecies S. m. megarhyncha Salvadori, 1896 S. m. sellamontis Reichenow, 1919	New Guinea	Size: Males weighing 52–60 g (1.8–2.1 oz) and females weighing 49–63 g (1.7–2.2 oz). Adults are between 21–24 cm (8.3–9.4 in) in length. Habitat: Diet:	LC
Yellow-billed kingfisher	Syma torotoro Lesson, 1827 Three subspecies S. t. torotoro (Lesson, 1827) S. t. flavirostris (Gould, 1850) S. t. ochracea (Rothschild and Hartert, 1901)	New Guinea and northern Cape York Peninsula in Australia	Size: 20 cm (7.9 in) long, with a wingspan of 29 cm (11 in), and it weighs 30–50 g (1.1–1.8 oz) Habitat: Diet:	LC

The adults of both species have bright yellow bills. The mountain kingfisher is endemic to the mountainous regions of New Guinea. The yellow-billed kingfisher occurs in lowland areas of New Guinea and on the Cape York Peninsula in north eastern Australia.^[5]

References

1. "Alcedinidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
2. Lesson, René (1827). "Nouveau gendre d'oiseau". Bulletin Universel des Sciences et de l'Industrie (in French). 11: 443.
3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 376. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 7.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
5. Fry, C. Hilary; Fry, Kathie; Harris, Alan (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, and Rollers. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 171–174. ISBN 978-0-7136-8028-7.