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Forest Kingfisher?

Todiramphus sp.

Photo by RachaelB
Published on Project Noah
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-18.6564, 146.145

Field Notes

Description:

The Forest Kingfisher was first described by the naturalists Sir William Jardine and Prideaux John Selby in 1830. It was known for many years by its old scientific name of Halcyon macleayi before being transferred to the genus Todiramphus. Two subspecies are recognised:

H. m. macleayi, the nominate subspecies, is found across the Top End eastwards to the Gulf of Carpentaria.
H. m. incinctus, described by John Gould, has a greener tinge to its back and is slightly larger. It is found down the east coast of Australia.

Notes:

Still looking to confirm if this is macleayi or incinctus subspecies.

Reference Links:

Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park - Forest Kingfisher

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (11)
DanielePralong
.... especially as one of the criteria to differentiate the two races is the size of a white spot on the wings which can only be seen in flight :-(
RachaelB
Yep, I'll take it out and wait and see what other people think.
DanielePralong
Maybe it's best not to call the race then? I definitely would not feel confident to do it on the base of the pic only but somebody else may :-) It's all interesting though!
DanielePralong
OK: my guide shows macleayi from the top end down the East Coast, the separation at the Gulf of Carpentaria and incinctus in the NT only... maybe more research is needed to see which one is right...
RachaelB
Atlas of living Australia has both species shown on the east coast. So that doesn't really help! http://biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/searchtaxa=Todiramphus+macleayii+incinctus#tab_mapView
RachaelB
Hang on - so the info I have above is wrong? It says incinctus is down the east coast?
RachaelB
Hmm - it might just be the sunlight that makes it look a bit greener. I was definitely on the east coast so maybe I should change it back to macleayii...
DanielePralong
Hi Rachel! I agree with the species, especially with the pale base on the bill. My Simpson and Day field guide gives the race macleayii for the location and not incinctus, but indicates incinctus has a greener back, which I think I can see on your pics. The geographical separation for the two races is shown at the NT-Queensland border.
RachaelB
Thanks Neil, I was 99% sure but there are such slight differences between some of them I was doing my head in!
Neil Ross
I think you're right with this ID, Rachael. Nicely spotted, and good info too. I've yet to see one of these myself.

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PublishedSeptember 2, 2013

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