The best ID feature here is the honking great bill on that bird. Only
Collared Kingfishers (or Kookaburras) have such a thick, large bill. Also
the broad, white eyespots rule out Sacred, which have narrow, buff coloured
eyebrows. On a side note, I've seen too much variation in greens and blues
on the three green/blue kingfishers to call ID based on colour (for example
I've seen Forest Kingfishers with a lot of green, a completely blue
Collared, and everything in between).
Regards,
Chris
On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 5:34 PM, Tom Tarrant <> wrote:
> Sorry to 'shoot-you down' but the bird in question is definitely a
> Collared,
> note the 'british racing-green and turquoise-blue plumage with no buff on
> the underparts and a much heftier-bill (for dealing with mudflat crabs).
> I've just spent a couple of weeks in Cape York and Cairns area and made a
> point of observing the plumages of this species and can assure you this is
> the same as the Collared that I saw there.
>
> Tom
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 4:42 PM, Ian Cowan <> wrote:
>
> > I know I will be shot down, but I am going for Sacred. Although it is
> > hard to judge the size of the bird, from the appearance of the mud and
> > sticks around it I would put it as a small bird, smaller than the
> Collared.
> > It is also thin (scrawny) whereas the collared is a distinctly larger,
> > plumper bird (not always obvious in the field guides). The Collared
> around
> > Cairns tends to inhabit the taller mangrove forest, not the mudflats.
> The
> > form of the Sacred that feeds on the mudflats and sandflats is quite dark
> on
> > its back, in some light conditions it can even appear to be black at
> first
> > glance, and often does not display the buff colouring of the "suburban"
> > Sacred
> >
> > Ian Cowan
> > Clifton Beach
> >
>
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