- Alcedo meninting
Identification
17cm (6½ in)
- frontal (loral) spot rufous, generally quite extensive
- blaze on side of neck white
- upperparts dark cobalt-blue
- underparts rufous
- ear coverts blue
- legs and feet (including nails) coral
- bill black
- base of bill (gape) usually shows at least some red
Similar species
Very similar to some races of Common Kingfisher such as the latter's hispidoides. Differs as follows, having:
- a red gape line at the base of the bill (generally present in all ages)
- the nails of the feet are red (dark or grey in common)
- the rufous loral spot is larger
- no hint of rufous ear patch (hispidoides may give some indication of one)
- blue deeper, darker
Distribution
South and south east Asia:
Asia: China, Nepal, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Lesser Sundas, Bali, Moluccas
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 6 subspecies[1]:
- A. m. coltarti: eastern India (northern Eastern Ghats) and base of Himalayas from central Nepal to northeastern India (Assam) east to Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos
- A. m. phillipsi: South-western India (Kerala) and Sri Lanka
- A. m. scintillans: Peninsular Myanmar and peninsular Thailand
- A. m. rufigastra: Andaman Islands
- A. m. verreauxii: Malay Peninsula south to the Riau Archipelago, Bangka, and Belitung, and east to Borneo, Palawan (Philippines), and the Sulu Islands
- A. m. meninting:Sumatra(including islands off west coast) and Java and Bali east to Lombok, also Sulawesi, Banggai Islands, and Sula Islands
Habitat
Streams, pools and lakes in dense broadleaved, lowland forest under 1000m.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists of fish, crustaceans, insects and larvae, including dragonflies.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2015)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Blue-eared Kingfisher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 17 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-eared_Kingfisher
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
