Beach Kingfisher (Todiramphus saurophagus)

Other Scientific Names
Todirhamphus saurophaga [Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)]

Other Names (World)
Beach Kingfisher, White-headed Kingfisher

Family
Alcedinidae (Kingfishers)

Size
28 - 30 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Gould, 1843)

Habitat
Mainly sea-cliffs and rocky offshore islands, rocky and sandy shorelines and tidal pools. Also subtropical and tropical mangroves, rural gardens and plantations.

Range (Guide)

Indonesia (B), Papua New Guinea (B), Solomon Islands (B).

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
A 'kee-kee-kee', similar to that of Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) but louder and deeper.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (11)...)

Beach Kingfisher (Todiramphus saurophagus) [XC215159]
by Patrik \u00c5berg from Waigeo, Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua, Indonesia (call)

Beach Kingfisher (Todiramphus saurophagus) [XC215160]
by Mike Nelson from Waigeo, Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua, Indonesia (call)

Subspecies
Genus often merged into Halcyon. Closely related to Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) but much larger. Subspecies anachoreta merged with admiralitatis by some authors. Population of Anchorite Is may warrant recognition as a separate subspecies.

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

saurophagus (Gould, 1843) - Northern Moluccas, western Papuan Is, north-west, northern and south-eastern coasts of New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland and satellite islands, and Solomon Is (Bougainville to San Cristobal).
anachoreta (Reichenow, 1898) - Ninigo, Anchorite and Hermit Is (north-western Bismarck Archipelago).
admiralitatis (Sharpe, 1892) - Admiralty Is (north-western Bismarck Archipelago).

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Beach Kingfisher (Todiramphus saurophagus) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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