Indigo-banded Kingfisher
Ceyx cyanopectus
A dazzling little kingfisher of streams with vegetated banks from the lowlands to low elevations in the mountains. Deep indigo-blue above with a pale turquoise band down the back and speckling on the wing and head. Note pale cheek and throat patches and bright orange chest and belly. Males have a blue band across the upper chest, and some have an incomplete band across the lower chest. Races differ. Southern birds have an all-black bill, while northern ones have a red lower bill and more blue on the sides. Similar to Common Kingfisher, but Indigo-banded lacks orange on the cheek and has at least some blue on the sides. Voice is a high-pitched, tinkling trill.
Taxonomy
There are two subspecies, the nominate race: C. c. cyanopectus, which occurs on Luzon, Polillo, Mindoro, Sibuyan and Ticao, and C. c. nigriostris, which is found on Panay, Negros and Cebu, though possibly extinct on Cebu. It forms a superspecies with the southern silvery kingfisher of the southern Philippines.
- Scientific name
- Ceyx cyanopectus
- Authority
- Lafresnaye, 1840
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
- Genus
- Ceyx
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
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