Alternative names: Brown-backed Paradise Kingfisher; Ruddy Racquet-tail
- Tanysiptera danae
Identification
28-30cm.
- Rufous-brown crown and back
- Bright pink rump
- Blue wing-coverts
- Pink chin and throat
- Richer deep pink breast and abdomen
- Paler flanks and uppertail-coverts
- Purplish-blue uppertail
- Central tail feathers 9cm longer than rest and with white tips
- Red bill
- Dark brown eye
Female with buff chin and throat. Juveniles with browner crown, olive-brown upperparts, scaly underparts and an orange bill with a brown base.
Distribution
Endemic to south-eastern New Guinea (Aroa River to Waria River).
Patchily distributed.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Forms a superspecies with Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher.
Habitat
Temperate and moist forests. Most common between 500 and 1000m.
Behaviour
Feeds on insects.
Perches usually higher up in the forest than Common Paradise Kingfisher.
No information about breeding.
Presumably a sedentary species.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 2001. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 6: Mousebirds to Hornbills. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334306
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Brown-headed Paradise Kingfisher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown-headed_Paradise_Kingfisher
