佛法僧目 Coraciiformes

佛法僧目 Coraciiformes，來自拉丁文的 corax (烏鴉) 和拉丁文的 -fōrmis (形狀)，說明全部動物是烏鴉形狀的，但是烏鴉並不是在該目裏，而是在雀形目。Coraciiformes, from Latin corax (“raven”) and Latin -fōrmis (“-shaped”), in reference to the fact that all the members of this order are raven-shaped animals, although the raven is not a member of this order, but rather of Passeriformes.

種的俗名 Common names of members

翠鳥、蜂虎、佛法僧、翠鴗、短尾鴗。

Kingfishers, bee-eaters, rollers, motmots, todies.

分佈 Distribution

世界各地，除了極度乾旱或寒冷地區和一些大洋島嶼外。

Worldwide except extremely arid or cold areas and some oceanic islands.

體型 Size

牠們是屬於小到中型，長度10厘米–160厘米。

They are small to medium sized birds (10 to 160 cm in length).

形態 Morphology

牠們脖子短、頭大、羽毛鮮豔，及腿細。可能會有尖形或圓形的翅膀。由於具有三個向前的腳趾，並且第三和第四的腳趾在其基部融合，牠們會出現並趾畸形。牠們的喙彎曲和長的，末端是尖的或長形匕首狀。往往顏色鮮豔。

They have short necks, big heads, vivid plumage, and small legs. They might have pointed or rounded wings. With three forward-pointing toes (and toes 3 and 4 fused at their base), they typically exhibit syndactyly. Their bills are curved, long and end in a sharp point, or long, dagger-like. Often brightly coloured.

生態及棲息地 Ecology & Habitat

牠們幾乎各種環境都會棲息，但會避免極度乾旱或寒冷的環境。

They can be found in every kind of environment, avoiding the extremely arid or cold ones.

食性 Diet

不同物種的食性有所不同：有昆蟲獵物的空中獵鳥、有觀察和等待獵物的鳥會捕食陸生無脊椎動物和小型脊椎動物（例如青蛙、蜥蜴、囓齒動物和幼鳥），以及水生獵鳥會吃魚類、甲殼類動物、青蛙和其他兩棲動物、環節動物、軟體動物等等。

The diets vary across the order. There are aerial hunters of insect prey, watch-and-wait hunters of terrestrial invertebrates, and small vertebrates such as frogs, lizards, rodents and young birds, and aquatic hunters of fish, crustaceans, frogs and other amphibians, annelid worms, molluscs, etc.

繁殖 Reproduction

通常是一夫一妻制，築巢會在已存在的洞中，例如樹上、牆壁上、雁石之間的等。雄性和雌性都會餵養幼鳥。

They are generally monogamous, nesting in an already existing hole such as holes in trees, walls, between rocks, etc. Both male and female feed the young.