Nest
In a hole in a termite's mound, usually close to the ground.
Eggs (Guide)
3 or 4; white; spherical; about 26 x 23 mm. Incubation: 26 - 28 days; by both sexes.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 4 - 5 weeks.
Subspecies
Subspecies nigriceps (with leucura) sometimes treated as forming a separate species. Non-breeding visitors to New Guinea described as subspecies mira, but inseparable from nominate.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
leucura Gould, 1850 - Umboi I (Bismarck Archipelago). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Black-headed Paradise-kingfisher (Tanysiptera nigriceps).
nigriceps P. L. Sclater, 1877 - New Britain and Duke of York I. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Black-headed Paradise-kingfisher (Tanysiptera nigriceps).
salvadoriana Ramsay, EP, 1879 - South-eastern New Guinea, from R Angabunga to R Kemp Welch.
sylvia Gould, 1850 - North-eastern Australia, from Cape York to Eurimbula; migrates to southern and northern New Guinea.
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