Tuamotu Kingfisher - BirdForum Opus

Todiramphus gambieri

Identification

Buffy-cream head and neck, blue crown, cream-white forehead and broad, buffy neck-band, dusky blue ear-coverts, white chin and underparts, often with rufous band across upper breast, blue mantle, back, rump, wings and tail.

Critically endangered.

Distribution

Island of Niau, French Polynesia.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies are often recognized, now split in two species by Clements:

• T. g. gambieri
  • Extinct. Formerly Mangareva I. (e Tuamotu Archipelago) - Mangareva Kingfisher
• T. g. gertrudae
  • Niau I. (nw Tuamotu Archipelago) - Niau Kingfisher

There seems to be some confusion about the taxonomy of this species

Habitat

Semi open habitat, coconut plantations, gardens, and cultivated areas around villages.

Behaviour

The diet includes insects and small lizards.

It excavates nest-cavities in dead coconut trees.

References

1. 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/

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Tuamotu Kingfisher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 31 May 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Tuamotu_Kingfisher

External Links

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