Little kingfisher

Appearance

The little kingfisher is 11.5 to 13 cm long with a deep, glossy, blue back and head, and a snowy white breast. It has a heavy bill and a short tail. It has dark brown feet, with one toe to the rear and only two forward toes. This is one of the smallest kingfishers in the world; only the African dwarf kingfisher is smaller. The male weighs 10–15 g and the female 10–14 g.

Distribution

The little kingfisher is found in open forest, woodland, swamps, and mangroves of Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It is generally uncommon and sedentary.

Status

Although the population trend is decreasing, the little kingfisher is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List. However, certain subspecies may be adversely affected by mangrove clearance and the Guadalcanal subspecies has not been recorded for several decades.

Habitat

The little kingfisher is found in open forest, woodland, swamps, and mangroves of Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It is generally uncommon and sedentary.

Reproduction

The little kingfisher will make a small burrow on the bank of a river during the mating season. Sometimes the nest is formed in the rotting root of a mangrove or paperbark, or in a termite mound. A clutch of 4-5 glossy, rounded, white eggs, measuring 17 mm × 14 mm, are laid in a chamber at the end of the burrow. Although incubation and fledging periods are unknown, both parents feed the young and continue to do so outside the nest for 9 days or more until the young are independent.

Food

The little kingfisher feeds on small fish, crustaceans, insect larvae and water-beetles. It perches quietly on a branch close to the water until it plunges into the water for prey, then returns swiftly and directly to the perch.