Biak Paradise-Kingfisher
Tanysiptera riedelii
A fairly common, long-tailed kingfisher of primary and degraded forest on Biak Island where it is the only paradise-kingfisher. White underparts, rump and long tail with large spatules, thick red bill, dark blue upperparts and pale blue flecked head, shoulder patch and narrow part of the tail. It sits still in the midstorey where it pumps its tail up and down. Calls, a slightly arhythmic series of soft “piu” notes, or a rising and accelerating series of sharper “puuu puu pipipipipipi! often given in duet.
Identification
The adult Biak paradise kingfisher is about 14 in (36 cm) including its long tail. The crown, nape and sides of the head as well as the upper parts are a bright glossy turquoise-blue. The rump and the basal parts of the rectrices are white and the underwings are black. The two central tail feathers are greatly elongated and have bare shafts which flare out at the tip into racket-like lobes. The bird's underparts are white and the long, stout bill is red.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tanysiptera riedelii
- Authority
- Verreaux, J, 1866
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
- Genus
- Tanysiptera
Range and habitat
The Biak paradise kingfisher is found only on the island of Biak in Indonesia. It seems that these birds originated from a few founding T. galatea birds which arrived on the island and became isolated from the mainland birds. These then underwent a "genetic revolution". There were no particular biotic factors involved, but there was sufficient variation among the founding birds to encourage speciation, and the assortment of genes that the birds received was later undisturbed by further inflow of alien genes.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The adult Biak paradise kingfisher has been little studied but its diet and behaviour are thought to be similar to the closely related common paradise kingfisher (Tanysiptera galatea) which is found on the mainland of New Guinea. Some authorities consider it to be subspecies of that bird. The common paradise kingfisher perches on a low branch in the forest and swoops down to scoop up insects and earthworms off the forest floor. It nests in a cavity of a tree, in a hollow branch or in a hole excavated in an arboreal termite nest.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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