Derivation
Todiramphus - L., todus, tody; Gk, ramphus, bill, referring to the tody-like flattened bill with upcurved lower mandible: macleayii - W.S. Macleay (1792 - 1865), naturalist, a notable figure in natural history in New South Wales
Nominate race, macleayi is common and sedentary. Race, incinctus in migratory and during winter migrate to New Guinea and become less common in the north-east and at times absent in the south-east.
Habitat
Open forest and woodlands, timbered and vegetated watercourses, farmlands, canefields, beaches and mangroves.
Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii) [XC366236]
by Marc Anderson from Darwin City, Darwin Municipality, Northern Territory, Australia (call)
Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii) [XC643396]
by James Lambert from Charles Darwin University, Darwin Municipality, Northern Territory, Australia (call)
Subspecies elizabeth barely separable from nominate.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
macleayii (Jardine & Selby, 1830) - Northern Australia in northern Northern Territory (southern at least to R Victoria), including Groote Eylandt and Sir Edward Pellew Group; some probably migrate to Sermata (eastern Lesser Sundas) and Aru Is.
incinctus (Gould, 1838) - Cape York Peninsula south to north-eastern New South Wales (south to R Macleay); southern population migrates northern as far as south-eastern Moluccas (Kai Is) and southern New Guinea.
elisabeth (Heine, 1883) - Eastern New Guinea, east from Astrolabe Bay in north and from Hall Sound in south.
Similar Species
Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus) which is mainly olive-green and has a duller and paler blue rump, uppertail and wings, and buff or orange-buff underparts and Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) which is mainly olive-green and has a duller and paler blue rump.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet