Collared kingfisher, Todirhamphus chloris (formerly; Halcyon chloris, protonym; Alcedo Chloris), also known as the white-collared kingfisher, mangrove kingfisher, and the sordid kingfisher, photographed at Kadavu Island, the Republic of Fiji (south Pacific Ocean).
Image: Kevin Sharp [velociraptorize].
Question: This lovely Fijian mystery bird is part of a group of birds that has representatives in most parts of the world. Can you tell me the taxonomic order that this bird is placed into a name a few of the physical characters that gave you clues for classifying this bird? For extra smug points, can you identify the species?
Response: This is a collared kingfisher, Todirhamphus chloris, a widely-ranging and highly variable species that has roughly 50 recognised subspecies. This species occurs throughout much of Oceania, Indonesia, Australia, and southern Asia and ranges as far as the Red Sea. It is the only kingfisher that is found in Fiji.
Interestingly, even though the Australasian region has the greatest diversity of kingfishers in the world, this is not where they originated. Instead, fossil evidence suggests that the kingfishers arose in the Northern Hemisphere and repeatedly invaded Australasia.
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to their dedicated graphic index page.
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