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14

Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii) Alternate name(s): "Macleay's Kingfisher", "Bush Kingfisher", "Blue Kingfisher" Aboriginal name(s): "dingdingin" [eastern bundjalung] Size: 17-23 cm Weight: 32-44 g

Australia: Family Group 14 Family Group 14 Table Australian Swiftlet Fork-tailed Swift White-throated Needletail Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher Yellow-billed Kingfisher Azure Kingfisher Little Kingfisher Forest Kingfisher Red-backed Kingfisher Torresian Kingfisher Sacred Kingfisher Blue-winged Kookaburra Laughing Kookaburra Rainbow Bee-eater Dollarbird Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Forest Kingfishers are relatively small kingfishers. They have two white patches in front of their eyes, while the rest of the head is deep dark-blue. The nape of the neck is white all around in male Forest Kingfishers, while females have a narrow blue bridge from crown to mantle at the nape of the neck. The frontof both sexes, from throat to undertail coverts, is all-white. The back (mantle, upperwings, uppertail) is blue. The wing coverts and rump are glossy and their colour can tend towards turquoise. The irises are black, the bill is dark-grey, with a light-grey base of the lower mandible. The legs and feet are grey. Juveniles have a buff-tinted, scalloped front and neck. Twitcher's tip Forest Kingfishers can be quite hard to distinguish from some particularly blue (male) specimens of Sacred Kingfishers. The spot in front of the eyes of Sacred Kingfishers is always buff, while the one in Forest Kingfishers is always white. In-flight, Forest Kingfishers have a white spot on their wings that Sacred Kingfishers do not have. Sexing Forest Kingfishers from photos or in the field can also be difficult. One needs a clear view of the nape of the neck to make a correct determination.

Taxonomy, classification See Forest Kingfisher at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Forest Kingfisher is available HERE . Forest Kingfishers are found only in Australia, eastern Indonesia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Forest Kingfishers populate the far North and the East coast of the Australian continent. In the Top End of the NT nominate race "macleayii" is found. The range of race "incinctus" comprises all of Cape York peninsula, the eastern half of QLD and the north-eastern corner of NSW. They are only rarely found South of the Hunter valley. Forest Kingfishers are not present anywhere else on the continent and not in Tasmania either. Forest Kingfishers are found only in near-coastal woodland, swamps or mangroves.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "macleayii" B. Hensen reports spotting Forest Kingfishers, race "macleayii", at Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, in July 2012 and again in July 2013. We first spotted Forest Kingfishers, race "macleayii", at Fogg Dam CR, NT, in August 2014. Several contributors report spotting Forest Kingfishers, race "macleayii", semi-regularly in and around Darwin, NT. Race "incinctus" Forest Kingfishers of race "incinctus" were spotted by us in the wetlands of Capricorn Resort, Yeppoon, in July 2009. Special access to the wetlands kindly granted by the owners of Capricorn Resort is most gratefully acknowledged. M. Eaton reports spotting Forest Kingfishers, race "incinctus", semi-regularly in many different locations in (near-)coastal QLD, ranging from Anstead, south-eastern QLD, to Lakefield NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports finding Forest Kingfishers, race "incinctus", regularly in various locations around Cairns, Daintree and Julatten, QLD.

Photos

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Race "macleayii"

ADULT

MALE

Lateral view of an adult male Forest Kingfisher with its head turned; based on this photo alone, the bird's sex cannot be established (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a male Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

Dorsal view of a male Forest Kingfisher; this view, showing clearly the completely white neck band, determines the sex of the bird in the top photo (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2012]

FEMALE

Close-up near-frontal view of a female Forest Kingfisher looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Botanical Gardens, Darwin, NT, September 2016]

Close-up lateral view of a female Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a female Forest Kingfisher; the sex can be determined, because the blue nape of the neck is visible (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a female Forest Kingfisher, with a clear view of the blue nape of the neck (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Marlow's Lagoon, Palmerston, NT, January 2018]

Dorsal view of a female Forest Kingfisher, with its head turned (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Marlow's Lagoon, Palmerston, NT, January 2018]

Dorsal view of an adult female Forest Kingfisher; this view makes the ID certain (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2013]

PAIR

Lateral view of a pair of Forest Kingfishers; probably the male is the bird at the lower left (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Botanical Gardens, Darwin, NT, September 2016]

Pair of Forest Kingfishers; probably the female is on the left (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, July 2018]

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Forest Kingfisher; the nape of the neck being partly invisible, the sex of the bird is uncertain
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a Forest Kingfisher; this bird looks very dark because wet (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, January 2019]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Dorsal/ventral view of an adult Forest Kingfisher with its head turned
[Fogg Dam CR, NT, August 2014]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Female Forest Kingfisher, right, with a juvenile bird - note the greyish scalloping on the front (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Marlow's Lagoon, Palmerston, NT, January 2018]

Frontal view of a juvenile Forest Kingfisher with its prey (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Marlow's Lagoon, Palmerston, NT, January 2018]

Race "incinctus"

ADULT

MALE

Near-frontal view of a male Forest Kingfisher; the sex was determined by using a different photo of the same bird that shows the complete white collar (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Stanage Bay, QLD, July 2021]

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Stanage Bay, QLD, July 2021]

Lateral view of a male Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Stanage Bay, QLD, July 2021]

Lateral view of an adult male Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cairns, QLD, July 2018]

Lateral view of a male Forest Kingfisher looking away from the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Stanage Bay, QLD, July 2021]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a male Forest Kingfisher looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Stanage Bay, QLD, July 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a male Forest Kingfisher looking sideways observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Stanage Bay, QLD, July 2021]

Dorsal view of a male Forest Kingfisher looking sideways observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Stanage Bay, QLD, July 2021]

FEMALE

Full-frontal view of a female Forest Kingfisher; the sex was determined from a different photo shown below
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, June 2020]

Near-frontal view of a female Forest Kingfisher; the sex was determined using a different photo of the same bird shown below (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, August 2023]

Close-up lateral view of a female Forest Kingfisher; note the incomplete collar, with blue running down the nape of the neck (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, August 2023]

Close-up lateral view of a female Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, June 2020]

Lateral view of a female Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum Wetlands, QLD, April 2018]

Lateral view of a female Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum Wetlands, QLD, April 2018]

Lateral view of a female Forest Kingfisher looking away from the observer - note the broken white neck band
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum Wetlands, QLD, April 2018]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a female Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, June 2020]

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bunyaville Conservation Park, Brisbane, QLD, May 2020]

Close-up frontal view of a Forest Kingfisher looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree Village, QLD, July 2020]

Close-up lateral view of a Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, August 2023]

Lateral view of a Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, July 2018]

Lateral view of a Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, July 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Town of 1770, QLD, September 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a Forest Kingfisher; the rufous tinge indicates fresh plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Town of 1770, QLD, September 2017]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a juvenile Forest Kingfisher looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, December 2019]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Feb

Eggs: 3 - 6

Incubation period: 18 - 19 days

Fledging age: 23 - 25 days

Forest Kingfishers often have two broods per season.

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Tree hollow, arboreal termite mound, or tunnel, with basket

Material: ?

Height above ground: 0 - 25 m

Forest Kingfisher nest in an arboreal termite mound (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, November 2020]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 25 x 22 mm

Colour: White

Shape: Rounded

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Even birds spending a lot of time in water need to clean their plumage - frontal view of a female Forest Kingfisher in the "bathroom" (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, April 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a female Forest Kingfisher drying its plumage (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, April 2020]

Dorsal view of a female Forest Kingfisher shaking out its plumage (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, April 2020]

Food, Diet

Forest Kingfishers, which are often found far away from water, prey on small animals, such as bugs, beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, and worms, as well as small frogs and lizards.

Frontal view of a Forest Kingfisher with its prey, a locust (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

Frontal view of a Forest Kingfisher with its prey (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

"Too late to prey" - Mantis caught by a female Forest Kingfisher (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, May 2020]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

fokfish_pb_20180902.m4a	macleayii (Top End, NT)	Contact call	© PB
fokfish_pb_20181105.m4a	macleayii (Top End, NT)	Contact calls	© PB
fokfish_pb_20180902_2.m4a	macleayii (Top End, NT)	Contact calls	© PB
fokfish_pb_20181105_2.m4a	macleayii (Top End, NT)	Annoyed call(?)	© PB
fokfish_pb_20181105_3.m4a	macleayii (Top End, NT)	Annoyed call(?)	© PB
fokfish_20140817.m4a	macleayii (Top End, NT)	Annoyed call?	© MD
fokfish_20140817_2.m4a	macleayii (Top End, NT)	Annoyed call?	© MD
fokfish_al_20201208.m4a	incinctus (N QLD)	Contact call	© AL
fokfish_me_20191221.m4a	incinctus (SE QLD)	Contact calls & annoyed calls? (juvenile)	© ME

More Forest Kingfisher sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 27 August 2023, 21:32 +00:00