Australia (B), Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste (B) (NB).
Vagrant to Japan, Palau, Taiwan (China).
Breeds in Australia, including Rottnest I and south-western islands in Torres Strait, and in eastern Papua New Guinea (at least Port Moresby area and Ramu Valley); possibly also in eastern Lesser Sundas. southern populations winter in north of breeding range, mainly in and around New Guinea; also western throughout Wallacea.
Food
Insects, mainly bees and wasps but also dragonflies, beetles, moths and butterflies.
Voice
A loud, clear, sharp, vibrating, trill of 'pir-r-r' calls, often uttered in flight. A 'pirr-pirrp-pirr-pirrp-piir-pirrp-..', fluctuating in pitch and volume. A 'quiera-queira-queira-' is uttered from a perch.
Nest
A cavity at the end of a tunnel in sandy soil, up to a meter in length.
Eggs (Guide)
3 - 7, usually 4 or 5; glossy, translucent white; spherical; about 24 x 18 mm. Incubation: 21 - 25 days beginning with laying of the first egg; by both sexes and helpers. Eggs are laid every second day.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 28 days. Fed and brooded by parents and helpers.
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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