Vanuatu Kingfisher
Todiramphus farquhari
A beautiful, boldly contrasting kingfisher with a blue head, a big black eye-mask, a white throat and neck, vibrant blue upperparts, and bright ginger underparts. Prefers undisturbed lowland forest. Often shy, sitting motionless in the canopy. Bright orange underparts separate it from other local kingfishers. Very vocal, giving a long series of chirping notes rising in pitch and speed.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Todiramphus farquhari
- Authority
- (Sharpe, 1899)
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
- Genus
- Todiramphus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Buff-browed Chachalaca
Ortalis superciliaris
Small chachalaca, brown overall with a pale buff eyebrow. Found in edge habitats, thickets, and young second-growth forests, even at the edge of urban areas. Song is typical of a chachalaca: a noisy, high-pitched, raucous “TJURRE-wruh,” repeated continually.
White-fronted Ground-Tyrant
Muscisaxicola albifrons
Largest ground-tyrant, usually identified readily by (relatively) big size and high Andean range. Usually seen as singles or pairs foraging on bogs, but also ranges into adjacent rocky puna habitats. Plumage rather plain overall with contrasting dirty whitish forehead patch; pale wing edgings create distinctive “frosty-winged” appearance in flight. Confusion only likely with smaller Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant, on which ochre nape can be hard to see.
White-eared Night Heron
Oroanassa magnifica
Rare and elusive night-heron with a bug-eyed, almost “alien,” appearance. Highly localized, seldom encountered far from its nesting colonies and roost sites. Black above with gray streaking on the chest and a clean white-and-orange head pattern, though this can be hard to see in poor lighting. Forages quietly in well-shaded forest streams, but most reliably seen in its small breeding colonies, usually hidden deep in a stand of bamboo or evergreen trees.
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