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Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)

Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) - HBW 6, p. 219

French: Martin-chasseur à collier blanc German: Halsbandliest Spanish: Alción Acollarado
Other common names: Black-masked/Mangrove(!)/White-collared Kingfisher; Sordid Kingfisher (sordidus)

Taxonomy: Alcedo Chloris Boddaert, 1783, Cape of Good Hope; error = Buru.
Genus often merged into Halcyon. Closely related to T. enigma and T. cinnamominus; former has been treated as conspecific, but lives alongside present species without hybridizing. Also close to T. sanctus and T. tutus, and some of the races listed below may be better placed in one of these, e.g. regina, vitiensis and eximius sometimes placed in former, whereas marinus, sacer, manuae and pealei may be better considered races of latter. Of numerous races named, some (e.g. albicilla) are distinctive but se.. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: Alcedo Chloris Boddaert, 1783, Cape of Good Hope; error = Buru.
Genus often merged into Halcyon. Closely related to T. enigma and T. cinnamominus; former has been treated as conspecific, but lives alongside present species without hybridizing. Also close to T. sanctus and T. tutus, and some of the races listed below may be better placed in one of these, e.g. regina, vitiensis and eximius sometimes placed in former, whereas marinus, sacer, manuae and pealei may be better considered races of latter. Of numerous races named, some (e.g. albicilla) are distinctive but several others doubtfully valid; further research and revision desirable. Forty-nine subspecies currently recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • abyssinicus ( Pelzeln, 1856) - S Red Sea coasts from NE Sudan to NW Somalia and in W Arabia.
  • kalbaensis ( Cowles, 1980) - S Arabian coast of United Arab Emirates (Khawr Kalba) and NW Oman (Shnass).
  • vidali ( Sharpe, 1892) - W India from Ratnagiri S to Kerala.

     See all 49 subspecies
  • abyssinicus ( Pelzeln, 1856) - S Red Sea coasts from NE Sudan to NW Somalia and in W Arabia.
  • kalbaensis ( Cowles, 1980) - S Arabian coast of United Arab Emirates (Khawr Kalba) and NW Oman (Shnass).
  • vidali ( Sharpe, 1892) - W India from Ratnagiri S to Kerala.
  • davisoni ( Sharpe, 1892) - Andaman Is and nearby Cocos Is.
  • occipitalis Blyth, 1846 - Nicobar Is.
  • humii ( Sharpe, 1892) - coasts of West Bengal E to Myanmar (including Mergui Archipelago) and S to Peninsular Malaysia, Tioman I and NE Sumatra.
  • armstrongi ( Sharpe, 1892) - interior of Myanmar and Thailand, Indochina and E China (Shaweishan Is, in Jiangsu).
  • laubmannianus ( Grote, 1933) - Sumatra (except NE coast) to Borneo, including Bangka, Belitung and other intervening islands.
  • chloropterus ( Oberholser, 1919) - islands off W coast of Sumatra (Simeulue S to Sipora).
  • azelus ( Oberholser, 1919) - Enggano I (off SW Sumatra).
  • palmeri ( Oberholser, 1919) - Java, Bali, Bawean and Kangean Is.
  • collaris ( Scopoli, 1786) - Philippines.
  • chloris ( Boddaert, 1783) - Talaud and Sangihe Is S through Sulawesi, Banggai and Sula Is to Lesser Sundas (from Lombok eastwards) and E to W Papuan Is and NW New Guinea (coasts of Vogelkop and Onin Peninsulas).
  • sordidus ( Gould, 1842) - Aru Is, and N & NE coasts of Australia.
  • pilbara ( Johnstone, 1983) - NW Australia from R De Grey W to Exmouth Gulf.
  • teraokai ( Nagamichi Kuroda, 1915) - Palau Is.
  • owstoni ( Rothschild, 1904) - N Northern Marianas (Asuncion, Agrihan, Pagan, Almagan).
  • albicilla ( Dumont, 1823) - S Northern Marianas (Saipan, Tinian).
  • orii ( Takatsukasa & Yamashina, 1931) - S Northern Marianas (Rota).
  • matthiae ( Heinroth, 1902) - St Matthias Is (NC Bismarck Archipelago).
  • nusae ( Heinroth, 1902) - New Hanover, New Ireland (except SW) and Feni Is.
  • novaehiberniae ( Hartert, 1925) - SW New Ireland.
  • bennetti ( Ripley, 1947) - Nissan I (E of New Ireland).
  • stresemanni ( Laubmann, 1923) - islands between mainland New Guinea and New Britain (Witu, Umboi, Sakar, Long and Tolokiwa).
  • tristrami ( E. L. Layard, 1880) - New Britain.
  • colonus ( Hartert, 1896) - Louisiade Archipelago.
  • alberti ( Rothschild & Hartert, 1905) - W & C Solomons, from Buka and Bougainville E to Florida Is and Guadalcanal.
  • pavuvu ( Mayr, 1935) - Pavuvu, in Russell Is (C Solomons).
  • mala ( Mayr, 1935) - Malaita (E Solomons).
  • solomonis ( E. P. Ramsay, 1882) - San Cristobal and adjacent islands (E Solomons).
  • sororum ( I. C. J. Galbraith & E. H. Galbraith, 1962) - Malaupaina and Malaulalo (E Solomons).
  • amoenus ( Mayr, 1931) - Rennell and Bellona (E Solomons).
  • ornatus ( Mayr, 1931) - Nendo and Tinakula (NW Santa Cruz Is).
  • brachyurus ( Mayr, 1931) - Reef or Swallow Is (NC Santa Cruz Is).
  • vicina ( Mayr, 1931) - Duff Is (NE Santa Cruz Is).
  • utupuae ( Mayr, 1931) - Utupua I (C Santa Cruz Is).
  • melanodera ( Mayr, 1931) - Vanikoro I (S Santa Cruz Is).
  • torresianus ( Mayr, 1931) - Hiu and Loh in Torres Is (N Vanuatu).
  • santoensis ( Mayr, 1931) - Banks Is S to Espiritu Santo and Malo (NC Vanuatu).
  • juliae ( Heine, 1860) - Ambae and Maewo S to Efate (C Vanuatu).
  • erromangae ( Mayr, 1938) - Erromango and Aneityum (S Vanuatu).
  • tannensis ( Sharpe, 1892) - Tanna (S Vanuatu).
  • regina ( Mayr, 1941) - Futuna I, in C Polynesia.
  • pealei ( Finsch & Hartlaub, 1867) - Tutuila (American Samoa).
  • manuae ( Mayr, 1941) - Ofu, Olosega and Tau, in Manua Is (American Samoa).
  • vitiensis ( Peale, 1848) - Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Viti Levu, Koro, Ovalau and Ngau (Fiji).
  • marinus ( Mayr, 1941) - Lau Archipelago (E Fiji).
  • eximius ( Mayr, 1941) - Kadavu (S Fiji).
  • sacer ( J. F. Gmelin, 1788) - C & S Tonga.

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