Data Zone
Taxonomic note
Corythornis cristatus, C. nais and C. thomensis (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously placed in the genus Alcedo and lumped as A. cristata following Melo and Fuchs (2008). Prior to that, all three taxa had been split as A. cristata, A. thomensis and A. nais following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).
Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N. J.; Christie, D. A.; Elliott, A.; Fishpool, L. D. C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Least Concern | |
| 2014 | Least Concern |
| Migratory status | not a migrant | Forest dependency | Low |
| Land mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 24,500,000 | |
| Number of locations | - | |
| Severely Fragmented | - |
| Value | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mature individuals | 0 | |||
| Population trend | Stable | suspected | - | |
| Decline (3 years/1 generation past) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (5 years/1 generation past) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (10 years/1 generation past) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (10 years/3 generation future) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (10 years/3 generation past and future) | - | - | - | |
| Number of subpopulations | - | - | - | |
| Percentage in largest subpopulation | - | - | - | |
| Generation length (yrs) | 4.4 | - | - | - |
Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is reported to be widespread and often common (del Hoyo et al. 2001).
Trend justification: The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.
| Country/Territory | Occurrence status | Presence | Resident | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Benin | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Botswana | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Burkina Faso | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Burundi | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Cameroon | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Central African Republic | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Chad | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Congo | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Djibouti | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Equatorial Guinea | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Eritrea | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Eswatini | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Ethiopia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Gabon | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Gambia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Ghana | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Guinea | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Guinea-Bissau | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Kenya | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Lesotho | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Liberia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Malawi | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Mali | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Mauritania | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Mozambique | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Namibia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Niger | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Nigeria | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Oman | V | Extant | Yes | |||
| Rwanda | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Senegal | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Sierra Leone | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Somalia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| South Africa | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| South Sudan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Sudan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Tanzania | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Togo | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Uganda | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Yemen | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Zambia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Zimbabwe | N | Extant | Yes |
| Country/Territory | IBA Name |
|---|---|
| Yemen | Wadi Hajar |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Canals and Drainage Channels, Ditches | suitable | resident |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Excavations (open) | suitable | resident |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels) | suitable | resident |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Ponds (below 8ha) | suitable | resident |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Wastewater Treatment Areas | suitable | resident |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha) | suitable | resident |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Plantations | marginal | resident |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Rural Gardens | marginal | resident |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Urban Areas | marginal | resident |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Dry | marginal | resident |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level | suitable | resident |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland | marginal | resident |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes | marginal | resident |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Freshwater Lakes | marginal | resident |
| Marine Intertidal | Rocky Shoreline | marginal | resident |
| Marine Intertidal | Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc | marginal | resident |
| Marine Intertidal | Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches | marginal | resident |
| Marine Intertidal | Tidepools | marginal | resident |
| Marine Neritic | Estuaries | suitable | resident |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | resident |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | resident |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) | suitable | resident |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | resident |
| Wetlands (inland) | Shrub Dominated Wetlands | suitable | resident |
| Altitude | Occasional altitudinal limits |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Corythornis cristatus. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 28/01/2023.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 28/01/2023.
