- Todiramphus macleayii
Todirhamphus macleayii, Halcyon macleayii
Identification
20cm (8 in)
A black, white and two-toned blue kingfisher distinguished by large white lore spots between bill and eye.
Males have a broad white collar, but females have an incomplete white collar broken by blue hind-neck.
Juveniles have buffy lore spots and flanks.
Shows a conspicuous white wing patch in flight.
Similar Species
The black mask and white collar are similar to Mangrove Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, or Red-backed Kingfisher but Mangrove and Sacred are olive-green above and Red-backed has an orange rump.
Distribution
- South-east Asia:- New Guinea and Lesser Sundas
- Australia: Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales
Taxonomy
Was previously Halcyon macleayii. The Sibley-Monroe spelling of the scientific name (Todirhamphus macleayii) is incorrect. Clements and Howard & Moore both use Todiramphus macleayii. More details in this discussion.
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]:
- T. m. elisabeth:
- Eastern New Guinea
- T. m. macleayii (insularis):
- Northern Australia (northern Northern Territory); winters to Sermata Island (Lesser Sundas)
- T. m. incinctus :
- Eastern Queensland to New South Wales; winters to eastern New Guinea and Kai Island
Habitat
Marshes, open lowland forest and forest edges roadsides, wetlands, watercourses, vegetation, cane fields.
Behaviour
They are often seen sitting on power lines.
Diet
Diet consists mostly of insects including grasshoppers, stick-insects, cockroaches, and beetles. Also spiders, frogs, tadpoles and lizards.
Breeding
Nests usually excavated in arboreal termitaria, but may use natural tree hollows. A short entrace burrow leads to a larger egg chamber. Clutch is three to six eggs.
Vocalisation
Includes high rolling chatter, harsh strident calls, loud whistles and screeches.
Movements
Races elizabeth and nominate race are mostly resident, but race incinctus is a partial migrant to Indonesia and New Guinea.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Fry, C.F., Fry, K. and Harris, A. (1991). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, and Rollers. Princeton University Press
- Gregory, P. (2017) Birds of New Guinea, Including Bismarck Archipelago and Boughainville. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
- Woodall, P.F. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/55762 on 6 November 2019).
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Forest Kingfisher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Forest_Kingfisher
External Links
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