Alternative name: Black-sided Kingfisher
- Todiramphus nigrocyaneus
Identification
A medium-sized Kingfisher with very distinctive subspecies.
- Dark blue crown with paler supercilium
- Black side of face and black mantle
- Pale blue back becoming darker on rump and tail
- Black bill with paler culmen
- Nominate race with white throat, white breast spot, blue breastband and blue belly, female with white belly
Variations
- quadricolor male with blue chestband and chestnut belly
- stictolaemus male with black mottling on white throat and largely blue underparts
Juveniles are duller with buffish fringes above, buffy below and with dark orange breastband and flanks.
Distribution
Endemic to New Guinea.
Not much information about population. Obviously more common in the western parts of its range.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[2]:
- T. n. nigrocyaneus:
- Lowlands of western New Guinea, Salawati and Batanta islands
- T. n. quadricolor:
- Yapen Island and northern New Guinea (Geelvink Bay to Astrolabe Bay)
- T. n. stictolaemus:
- Southern New Guinea (south-eastern Irian Jaya to Owen Stanley Range)
Habitat
Wetlands - streams, swamps and ponds in forests to 600 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Diet little known. Feeds on crabs, fish and lizards.
Perches low over water or high in the canopy.
Breeding
No information on breeding.
Movements
A sedentary species.
References
- 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
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- BirdLife International
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Blue-black Kingfisher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-black_Kingfisher
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
