- Ceyx azurea
Alcedo azurea
Ceyx azureus
Identification
18 cm (7 in)
- Deep blue to azure upperparts
- Large white to buff spot on side of neck and throat
- Rufous-buff with some blue-violet streaks on breast and flanks
- Red feet
- Rufous loral spot
Distribution
Found throughout New Guinea including nearby islands, also the Moluccas, Australia and Tasmania.
Taxonomy
This species is included in genus Alcedo by some authorities.
Subspecies
There are 8 subspecies[1]:
- C. a. affinis:
- Northern Moluccas (Morotai, Halmahera and Bacan)
- C. a. wallaceanus:
- Aru Islands
- C. a. lessonii:
- Lowlands of New Guinea, western Papuan islands and Fergusson Island
- C. a. ochrogaster:
- Northern New Guinea and islands in Geelvink Bay
- C. a. yamdenae:
- Tanimbar Islands (southern Banda Sea)
- C. a. ruficollaris:
- Coastal northern Australia and major offshore outlying islands
- C. a. azurea:
- Coastal eastern and south-eastern Australia
- C. a. diemenensis:
Habitat
Always spotted near water of some kind; ponds, rivers, lakes and mangroves, estuaries and coastal waters.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists mostly of small fish and insects.
Breeding
It nests in a chamber up to 1 metre long in an earthen creek bank. 5-7 white, rounded, glossy eggs are laid.
Vocalisation
The voice is a high-pitched, shrill, pseet-pseet.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved September 2015)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Azure Kingfisher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Azure_Kingfisher
External Links
