• Cyex Lacépède, B.G.É. (as Lacepède) 1799. Discours d'Ouverture et de Clôture du Cours d'Histoire Naturelle Donné dans le Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 1'an VII de la République, et tableaux méthodiques des mammifères et des oiseaux. Paris : Plassan 94 pp. [publication date established from Sherborn, C.D. 1899. Lacepède's 'Tableaux...des mammifères et des oiseaux,' 1799. Nat. Sci., Lond. 15: 406–409 [409]] [10].

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

IBRA

NSW, NT, Qld, Tas, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Ben Lomond (BEL), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders (FLI), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), King (KIN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Tasmanian West (TWE), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

Other Regions

Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal
  • Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, N Gulf, NE coastal, NE oceanic, Torres Strait Islands
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Western Australia: N coastal
• Indonesia
  • Aru Islands
  • Irian Jaya
• Papua New Guinea

History of changes

Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement

• Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1976. Infra-specific variation in Alcedo azurea Latham (Alcedinidae). The Emu 76: 161-166 [164]

Introduction

Assigned to Ceyx, following Christidis and Boles (2008: 169).

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

IBRA

NSW, NT, Qld, Tas, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Ben Lomond (BEL), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders (FLI), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), King (KIN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Tasmanian West (TWE), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal
  • Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, N Gulf, NE coastal, NE oceanic
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Western Australia: N coastal

General References

Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [169]

Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. (subspecific arrangement and specific limits)

Fry, C.H. 1980. The evolutionary biology of kingfishers (Alcedinidae). Living Bird 18: 113-160 (subspecific arrangement and specific limits)

Keast, A. 1957. Variation in the Australian kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae). Records of the Australian Museum 24: 61-72 (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement also subsequent revisions)

Peters, J.L. 1945. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 5 xi 306 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Peters, J.L. 1945. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 5 xi 306 pp. (subspecific arrangement and specific limits)

Sharpe, R.B. 1892. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Picariae. Coraciae (contin.) and Halcyones. London : British Museum Vol. 17 xi 522 pp. XVII pls. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Wolters, H.E. 1976. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey pp. Lief. 2, 81-160. (subspecific arrangement and specific limits)

History of changes

• Alcedo azurea Latham, J. 1801. Supplementum Indicis Ornithologici, sive Systematis Ornithologiae. London : G. Leigh, J. & S. Sotheby 74 pp. [32] [based on the Azure Kingsfisher in Latham, J. 1802. Supplement II. to the General Synopsis of Birds. London : Leigh, Sotheby & Son 376 pp. pls CXX–CXL [publication dated as 1801] (372), doubtfully based in turn on Thomas Watling drawing no. 79 in BMNH, see Sharpe, R.B. 1906. Birds. pp. 79–515 in, The History of the Collections contained in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum. London : British Museum Vol. 2. (123); Hindwood, K.A. 1970. The "Watling" drawings, with incidental notes on the "Lambert" and the "Latham" drawings. Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 1968–69: 16–32 pls IV–VII; cf. Mathews, G.M. 1918. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pt 1 pp. 1–112 pls 325–336 [4 Mar. 1918] (90)].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown (lost, possibly figured on Thomas Watling drawing no. 79 in BMNH), region of Port Jackson, NSW (as insula Norfolk Maris Pacifici).

  Type locality references:

  Mathews, G.M. 1918. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pt 1 pp. 1-112 pls 325-336. [Date published 4 Mar. 1918] [86] (cf. Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.]; Hellmayr, C.E. 1916. Weiteres zur avifauna von Timor. Novitates Zoologicae 23: 96–111).
• Alcedo tribrachys Shaw, G. in Shaw, G. & Nodder, F.P. (ill.) 1805. The Naturalist's Miscellany; or coloured figures of natural objects drawn and described immediately from nature. London : Nodder Vol. XVI pls 637-684. [text to pl. 681] [type material not traced: not cited among specimens ex Leverian Museum in NHMW by von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Ibis 3 3: 14–54 and Von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Part II. Ibis 3 3: 105–124, nor in LIVCM by Wagstaffe, R. 1978. Type Specimens of Birds in the Merseyside County Museums. Liverpool : Merseyside County Museums, Merseyside County Council 33 pp.; holotype figured on pl. 681 in protologue].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown (?lost), New South Wales, probably region of Port Jackson (as Australasia).

  Type locality references:

  Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912].
• Ceyx cyanea Lesson, R.P. 1830. Traité d'Ornithologie, ou Tableau méthodique des ordres, sous-ordres, familles, tribus, genres, sous-genres et races d'oiseaux. Paris : F.G. Levrault livr. 4, 241-320 15 pls. [publication dated 1831] [241] [not a junior secondary homonym of Alcedo cyanea Forster, 1791 (=Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1873)), nor Alcedo cyanea Vieillot, 1818 (=Megaceryle torquata (Linnaeus, 1766)) under ICZN Art. 59 (c); based on untraced material collected on the Baudin expedition (1801–1803) and recorded incorrectly as coming from Timor per R. Maugé de Cely, see Hellmayr, C.E. 1916. Weiteres zur avifauna von Timor. Novitates Zoologicae 23: 96–111; if Maugé was involved in the collecting, Tasmania is the most likely type locality according to the itinerary of the expedition before Maugé's death, see Whittell, H.M. 1954. The Literature of Australian Birds: a History and Bibliography of Australian Ornithology. Perth : Paterson Brokensha xi 116 788 pp. (58–69)—nevertheless, the conventional type locality of New South Wales, which the Baudin expedition also visited at Sydney, is kept here for two reasons: (1) locality and collector as cited in the protologue are not definitive, and (2) the subspecific identity of the type has not been established otherwise; type probably in MNHP—but not cited by Pucheran, J. 1853. Etudes sur les types peu connus du Musée de Paris. 6—Passereux syndactyles. Rev. Mag. Zool. Paris 2 5: 385–393].

  Type data:

   Holotype MNHP (Institution uncertain), New South Wales (as Timor (Maugé)).

  Type locality references:

  Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] (cf. Hellmayr, C.E. 1916. Weiteres zur avifauna von Timor. Novitates Zoologicae 23: 96–111; Mathews, G.M. 1918. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pt 1 pp. 1–112 pls 325–336 [4 Mar. 1918] [90]).
• Alcedo tridactyla Lesson, R.P. 1830. Traité d'Ornithologie, ou Tableau méthodique des ordres, sous-ordres, familles, tribus, genres, sous-genres et races d'oiseaux. Paris : F.G. Levrault livr. 4, 241-320 15 pls. [publication dated 1831] [241] [evidently in error for Alcedo tribrachys Shaw, 1805, and treated here as an unjustified emendation of that name; published in synonymy of Ceyx cyanea Lesson, 1830 (q.v.), and unavailable under ICZN Art. 11(d) & (e)].
• Alcyone australis Swainson, W. 1837. On the Natural History and Classification of Birds. In, Lardner, D. (ed.). The Cabinet Cyclopaedia. London : Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman and John Taylor Vol. 2(92) vi 398 pp. [publication dated 1836-1837 Kluge, A.G. 1971. John Edward Gray and "The Zoological Miscellany". In Gray, J.E. (1831–1844). The Zoological Miscellany. [reprint]. U.S.A. Misc. Publ. of Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.] [336] [nom. nov. for Alcedo azurea Latham, 1802 by reference to pl. 26 in Swainson, W. 1823. Zoological Illustrations; or Original Figures and Descriptions of new, rare, or interesting Animals, selected chiefly from the classes of Ornithology, Entomology, and Conchology, and arranged on the principles of Cuvier and other modern zoologists.. London : Baldwin, Cradock & Joy Vol. 1 ix 75 pp., pls 1–66, Vol. 2–63 pp., pl. 67, Vol. 3 x 71 pp. [published between 1820-1823]].
• Alcyone azurea victoriae Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] [285].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 636824 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 5119), Frankston, VIC (as Victoria)
  Comment: for identification of holotype, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.

  Type locality references:

  Mathews, G.M. 1913. A List of the Birds of Australia containing the names and synonyms connected with each genus, species, and subspecies of birds found in Australia, at present known to the author. London : Witherby xxvii 453 pp. [145].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1976. Infra-specific variation in Alcedo azurea Latham (Alcedinidae). The Emu 76: 161-166 [164]

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Coastal and subcoastal E Australia, north to about Endeavour River and main offshore islands in QLD, south to S VIC, and inland to or just across watershed of Great Dividing Range in north and to upper Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, middle Murray and Glenelg Rivers in S NSW, VIC—formerly to Mt Lofty Range, SA (?isolate) where now extinct—records from SW Australia not confirmed. Intergrades with A. a. ruficollaris (Bankier, 1841) on central E coast of Cape York Peninsula north from Endeavour River to around Princess Charlotte Bay, QLD.

IBRA

NSW, Qld, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders (FLI), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, NE coastal
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, arthropod-feeder, closed forest, diurnal, estuary, lentic freshwater, littoral, lotic freshwater, mangrove, nomadic, open forest, piscivore, piscivore, resident, swamp, tall forest, territorial, volant.

Extra Ecological Information

Randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, arthropod-feeder on sheltered waterways, solitary or in dispersed pairs, feeds by diving from vantage perches low over water, nests in tunnels in banks beside water, both sexes share nidificational duties.

General References

Clancy, G. 1980. Azure Kingfisher Display. Australian Birds 14: 56 (behaviour)

Keast, D. 1977. Unusual sightings of Azure Kingfisher. Corella 1: 80-81 (distribution)

Marshall, A.J. 1931. The Azure Kingfisher. The Emu 31: 44-47 (feeding, habitat, nidification and nesting behaviour)

Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1976. Infra-specific variation in Alcedo azurea Latham (Alcedinidae). The Emu 76: 161-166 (plumages, age classes, distribution, taxonomy)

History of changes

• Alcyone diemenensis Gould, J. 1846. Descriptions of eleven new species of Australian birds. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1846: 18-21 [Date published July 1911: published May] [19] [also as incorrect subsequent spelling, diemensis by Cabanis, J. & Heine, F. 1860. Museum Heineanum. Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt. Pt 2. Halberstadt : R. Frantz 175 pp. [publication dated 1859-1860 Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.]; lectotypification of Gould material in ANSP effected by Stone, W. in Stone, W. & Mathews, G.M. 1913. A list of the species of Australian birds described by John Gould, with the location of the type-specimens. Austral Avian Records 1: 129–180 under ICZN Art. 74(a), and accepted here on the likelihood that the specimen chosen was among those few available to Gould from Tasmania when he drew up his description of Alcyone diemenensis, cf. Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1957. On some avian types, principally Gould's, in the collection of the Academy. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 109: 123–246].

  Type data:

   Lectotype ANSP 21232 ♀ (Verreaux cat. no. 648), TAS (as Van Diemen's Land).

  Subsequent designation references:

  Stone, W. in Stone, W. & Mathews, G.M. 1913. A list of the species of Australian birds described by John Gould, with the location of the type-specimens. Austral Avian Records 1: 129-180 [Date published 28 Feb 1913].

Distribution

States

Tasmania

Extra Distribution Information

Lower altitude streams on main island, particularly in north, west and south, where rare.

IBRA

Tas: Ben Lomond (BEL), Flinders (FLI), King (KIN), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Tasmanian West (TWE)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Tasmania

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, arthropod-feeder, closed forest, diurnal, estuary, lentic freshwater, littoral, lotic freshwater, open forest, piscivore, sedentary, swamp, tall forest, territorial, volant.

Extra Ecological Information

Randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, arthropod-feeder along sheltered streams, solitary or in dispersed pairs, feeds by diving from vantage perches low over water, nests in tunnels in banks beside water.

General References

Campbell, A.J. 1901. Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds including the geographical distribution of the species and popular observations thereon. Sheffield : A.J. Campbell Vol. 2 525-1102 pp. (nidification)

North, A.J. 1909. Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania. Sydney : Australian Museum Spec. Cat. 1 Vol. 2 vii 380 pp. [published between 1906–1909] (nidification, under Alcyone azurea (Latham, 1802))

Thomas, D. 1979. Tasmanian Bird Atlas. Fauna of T Handbook No. 2. Hobart : Fauna of Tasmania Committee, University Tas. 171 pp. (distribution)

History of changes

• Alcyone ruficollaris Bankier, R.A. 1841. A new species of the Australian genus Alcyone. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1 6: 394-395 [394] [applied in error to Todiramphus sanctus (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) by Mathews, G.M. 1919. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pts 1–5 499 +xii pp. pls 325–370; Peters, J.L. 1945. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 5 xi 306 pp.; Wolters, H.E. 1975. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey xx 745 pp. [published between 1975–1982 Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.]: see Hartert, E. 1930. III. List of the birds collected by Ernst Mayr. Novitates Zoologicae 36: 27–128 (99); Schodde, R. & Holyoak, D.T. 1977. Application of Halcyon ruficollaris Holyoak and Alcyone ruficollaris Bankier. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 97: 32, and applied to both this species and Todiramphus sanctus (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) by Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia Pt 1 Non-passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp.].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown (ex R.A. Bankier coll.), Port Essington, NT.

  Type locality references:

  Mathews, G.M. 1919. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pts 1-5 499 +xii pp. pls 325-370.
• Alcyone pulchra Gould, J. 1846. Descriptions of eleven new species of Australian birds. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1846: 18-21 [Date published July 1911: published May] [19] [lectotypification of Gould material in ANSP effected by Stone, W. in Stone, W. & Mathews, G.M. 1913. A list of the species of Australian birds described by John Gould, with the location of the type-specimens. Austral Avian Records 1: 129–180 under ICZN Art. 74(a), and accepted here on the likelihood that the specimen chosen was among those few available to Gould from Port Essington when he drew up his description of Alcyone pulchra, cf. Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1957. On some avian types, principally Gould's, in the collection of the Academy. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 109: 123–246].

  Type data:

   Lectotype ANSP 21237 ♀ (Verreaux cat. no. 649), Port Essington, NT.

  Subsequent designation references:

  Stone, W. in Stone, W. & Mathews, G.M. 1913. A list of the species of Australian birds described by John Gould, with the location of the type-specimens. Austral Avian Records 1: 129-180 [Date published 28 Feb 1913].
• Alcyone azurea alisteri Mathews, G.M. 1912. Additions and corrections to my Reference List to the Birds of Australia. Austral Avian Records 1(2): 25-52 [Date published 2 Apr 1912] [37] [published anonymously—authorship credited in Austral Avian Rec. 1: 65; holotype figured on pl. 332 and described in detail on pp. 85–86 in Mathews, G.M. 1918. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pt 1 pp. 1–112 pls 325–336 [4 Mar. 1918]].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 636824 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 1250), Parry's Creek, near Wyndham, north WA
  Comment: for identification of holotype, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1976. Infra-specific variation in Alcedo azurea Latham (Alcedinidae). The Emu 76: 161-166 [164]

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Coastal N Australia and inland along north-draining streams, west to middle Fitzroy and Ord Rivers, Kimberley Division, WA, and east via Victoria, Roper and Gulf of Carpentaria river systems NT, QLD, to Cape York Peninsula, south-east to region of Princess Charlotte Bay (Stewart River)—also offshore islands: Augustus in Kimberley Division, Melville-Bathurst, Groote Eylandt, Sir Edward Pellew group, and SW islands in Torres Strait (?subspecies)—may reach Tanimbar, Romang and Babar in Banda Sea. Intergrades with A. a. azurea (Latham, 1802) on central east coast of Cape York Peninsula south from Princess Charlotte Bay to about Endeavour River, QLD.

IBRA

NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal
  • Queensland: N Gulf, NE coastal, NE oceanic
  • Western Australia: N coastal

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, arthropod-feeder, closed forest, diurnal, estuary, lentic freshwater, littoral, lotic freshwater, mangrove, nomadic, open forest, piscivore, resident, swamp, tall forest, territorial, volant.

Extra Ecological Information

Randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, piscivore, arthropod-feeder on sheltered waterways, solitary or in dispersed pairs, feeds by diving from vantage perches low over water, nests in tunnels in banks beside water.

General References

Hartert, E. 1924. Types of birds in the Tring Museum. B. Types in the general collection. IV. Novitates Zoologicae 31: 112-134 (dispersal)

Ingram, G. 1976. Birds from some islands of the Torres Strait. Sunbird 7: 67-76 (distribution)

Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1976. Infra-specific variation in Alcedo azurea Latham (Alcedinidae). The Emu 76: 161-166 (plumages, age classes, distribution, taxonomy)

Thompson, H.A.F. 1984. The status of kingfishers and their allies (Coraciiformes) in the Darwin area, N.T., 1974 to 1982. Northern Territory Naturalist 7: 18-29 (distribution, habitat, status)

History of changes

Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement

• Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [375] (derived from Mayr, E. 1941. List of New Guinea Birds. A Systematic and Faunal List of the Birds of New Guinea and Adjacent Islands. New York : American Museum of Natural History xi 260 pp.; Keast, A. 1957. Variation in the Australian kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae). Records of the Australian Museum 24: 61–72; and Ford, J. 1983. Taxonomic notes on some mangrove-inhabiting birds in Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 10: 381–451)

Introduction

Assigned to Ceyx, following Christidis and Boles (2008: 169).

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland

IBRA

NT, Qld: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), NSW North Coast (NNC), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT)

Other Regions

Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal
  • Queensland: N Gulf, NE coastal, NE oceanic, Torres Strait Islands
• Indonesia
  • Aru Islands
  • Irian Jaya
• Papua New Guinea

General References

Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [169]

Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. (subspecific arrangement)

Fry, C.H. 1980. The evolutionary biology of kingfishers (Alcedinidae). Living Bird 18: 113-160 (subspecific arrangement and specific limits)

Mathews, G.M. 1919. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pts 1-5 499 +xii pp. pls 325-370. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Peters, J.L. 1945. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 5 xi 306 pp. (subspecific arrangement)

Sharpe, R.B. 1892. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Picariae. Coraciae (contin.) and Halcyones. London : British Museum Vol. 17 xi 522 pp. XVII pls. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Wolters, H.E. 1975–1982. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey xx 745 pp. (subspecific arrangement and specific limits)

History of changes

• Alcyone pusilla halli Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] [286] [holotype figured on plate 333 and described in detail on pp. 100–101 in Mathews, G.M. 1918. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pt 1 pp. 1–112 pls 325–336 [4 Mar. 1918]].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 636941 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 1255), Cairns, north QLD
  Comment: for identification of holotype, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.

Distribution

States

Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Coast and tablelands to c. 750 m alt. in NE QLD, north to Endeavour River and south to Broad Sound-Keppel Bay, ?erratically Gladstone—locally on E coast of Cape York Peninsula north to about Chester River. Intergrades with A. p. ramsayi (North, 1912) on NE Cape York Peninsula north of Chester River and through south islands of Torres Strait.

IBRA

Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), NSW North Coast (NNC), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Queensland: NE coastal

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, arthropod-feeder, closed forest, diurnal, estuary, lentic freshwater, littoral, lotic freshwater, mangrove, piscivore, sedentary, territorial, volant.

Extra Ecological Information

Randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, arthropod-feeder on sheltered water ways, solitary or in dispersed pairs, feeds by diving from vantage perches low over water, nests in tunnels in banks beside water, both sexes share nidificational duties.

General References

Miller, R.S. 1932. Some notes on the Little Kingfisher. The Emu 31: 257-259 pl. 45 (external morphology, habitat, feeding, nidification)

Schodde, R. & Tidemann, S.C. (consultant eds) 1986. Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds. Sydney : Reader's Digest 639 pp. (age classes, general biology)

History of changes

• Ceyx pusillus Temminck, C.J. in Temminck, C.J. & Laugier de Chartrouse, M. 1836. Nouveau Recueil de Planches Coloriées d'Oiseaux, pour servir de suite et de complément aux Planches enluminées de Buffon. Paris : G. Levrault Vol. 5 livr. 100 pp. [publication dated as 1838] [text to pl. 595, fig. 3] [as pusilla; for authorship, see Stresemann, E. 1951. Histoire des origins des 'Planches coloriées' de Temminck et Laugier. Oiseau Revue Français d'Ornithologie 21: 33–47; holotype figured as fig. 3 on pl. 595 of original description].

  Type data:

   Holotype RMNH, Lobo, Triton Bay, Irian Jaya (as Baie de Lobo, New Guinea).

Distribution

States

Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Kai, W. Papuan Is., lowlands of New Guinea, Fergusson and Goodenough Is., and n. islands of Torres Strait Is. and possibly NE Cape York Peninsula; N islands of Torres Strait (probably this subspecies), also New Guinea and islands in Arafura Sea to ?Moluccas.

IBRA

Qld: Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Plains (GUP), Mount Isa Inlier (MII)

Other Regions

Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, arthropod-feeder, diurnal, estuary, lentic freshwater, littoral, lotic freshwater, mangrove, nomadic, nomadic, piscivore, piscivore, sedentary, swamp, territorial, volant.

Extra Ecological Information

Nomadic through Torres Strait, randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, arthropod-feeder on sheltered waterways, solitary or in dispersed pairs, feeds by diving from vantage perches low over water, nests in tunnels in banks beside water, both sexes share nidificational duties.

General References

Draffan, R.D.W., Garnett, S.T. & Malone, S.J. 1983. Birds of the Torres Strait: an annotated list and biogeographical analysis. The Emu 83: 207-234 (distribution, status)

History of changes

• Alcyone ramsayi North, A.J. 1912. Descriptions of two new species, and a new genus of Australian birds. Ibis 9 6: 118-120 [Date published 7 Feb 1912] [119].

  Type data:

   Holotype AM A4606 ♂ adult, Port Essington, NT
  Comment: for identification of holotype, see Hindwood, K.A. 1946. A list of the types and paratypes of birds from Australian localities in the Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales. Records of the Australian Museum 21: 386–393; Longmore, N.W. 1991. Type specimens of birds in the Australian Museum. Technichal Report of the Australian Museum n 4: 1–42.

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Coastal N Australia, west to W Arnhem Land (Victoria River), NT, and east to W coast of Cape York Peninsula (Watson River), QLD, but scarce to locally absent around head of Gulf of Carpentaria—also Melville-Bathurst Ils and Groote Eylandt. Intergrades with A. p. halli (Mathews, 1912) on NE coast of Cape York Peninsula south to about Chester River and through south islands of Torres Strait.

IBRA

NT, Qld: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal
  • Queensland: N Gulf

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, arthropod-feeder, closed forest, diurnal, estuary, lentic freshwater, littoral, lotic freshwater, mangrove, piscivore, sedentary, swamp, territorial, volant.

Extra Ecological Information

Randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, arthropod-feeder on sheltered coastal (estuarine) waterways, solitary or in dispersed pairs, feeds by diving from vantage perches low over water, nests in tunnels in banks beside water.

General References

Lea, A.M. & Gray, J.T. 1935. The food of Australian birds. An analysis of the stomach contents. Part II. The Emu 35: 63-98 (diet)

MacGillivray, W. 1911. Two nests of Alcyone pusilla. The Emu 11: 126 (nest and eggs)

Schodde, R. & Tidemann, S.C. (consultant eds) 1986. Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds. Sydney : Reader's Digest 639 pp. (age classes, general biology)

History of changes