Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis: Sarcopterygii
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Euornithes
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Ornithurae
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Coraciiformes
Familia: Alcedinidae
Subfamilia: Halcyoninae
Genus: Todiramphus
Species: Todiramphus farquhari
Name
Todiramphus farquhari (Sharpe, 1899)
Original combination: Halcyon farquhari
References
Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 10 p.29 BHL
IUCN: Todiramphus farquhari (Near Threatened)
Vernacular names
català: Alció de les Vanuatu
Cebuano: Todiramphus farquhari
čeština: Ledňáček oranžovobřichý
Cymraeg: Pysgotwr bron winau
English: Vanuatu kingfisher
français: Martin-chasseur à ventre roux
Nederlands: Kastanjebuikijsvogel
svenska: vanuatukungsfiskare
The Vanuatu kingfisher or chestnut-bellied kingfisher (Todiramphus farquhari) is a medium-sized kingfisher found only on the islands of Espiritu Santo, Malo and Malakula in Vanuatu.
It is dark blue above with richly coloured orange underparts. There is a white spot in front of the eye and a broad black band on the side of the head. It has a white throat and collar. It measures 19–21 cm in length and weighs 32-42 grams. The call is a series of loud, shrill, piping notes. The only other kingfisher in Vanuatu is the Pacific kingfisher which has paler blue-green upperparts, whiter underparts and a buff stripe above the eye.
The Vanuatu kingfisher mainly eats insects, especially beetles, and will also take spiders and small lizards. It usually hunts by perching on a branch and waiting for prey to appear. When it spots something it flies into the air or dives down to the ground or a tree trunk to catch it.
The nest is sometimes built in a hole in a palm tree or tree fern but usually a pair will excavate a burrow in a termite mound in a tree. They dig with their large bill and clear out material with their feet. After about fifteen days the burrow is completed and the termites seal off their sections. Three or four white eggs are laid. The breeding season is mostly from November to February with eggs laid in December.
The birds mainly inhabit dense rainforests in the interior of the islands, particularly above 200m. They are believed to be declining due to loss and degradation of the forest.
References
BirdLife International (2016). "Todiramphus farquhari". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22683347A92984640. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683347A92984640.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
Heinrich L. Bregulla (1992) Birds of Vanuatu, Anthony Nelson, Oswestry, England
C Hilary Fry, Kathie Fry & Alan Harris (1992) Kingfishers, Bee-eaters & Rollers, Christopher Helm (Publishers) Ltd., London
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
