CNZdenek
Yellow-billed Kingfisher (Syma torotoro)
Lockhart River, QLD, Australia. December 2018.
This species, like many other birds, are often heard but unseen. But this one takes that a bit more to the extreme: they call from densely vegetated areas (gallery forest or rainforest), move relatively little, and their call somehow seems to disguises their exact location. You swear they're in one location, but as you approach, you have to readjust your approach.
Most people wouldn't know, but they have two black dots on the back of their neck. Field guides don't show that part of the bird!
Like many of Cape York Peninsula species, this one also occurs in Papua New Guinea. They nest in arboreal termite mounds by excavating a small hole in the side of the mound.
Special thanks to Brian Venables for showing me this beautiful individual!
Yellow-billed Kingfisher (Syma torotoro)
Lockhart River, QLD, Australia. December 2018.
This species, like many other birds, are often heard but unseen. But this one takes that a bit more to the extreme: they call from densely vegetated areas (gallery forest or rainforest), move relatively little, and their call somehow seems to disguises their exact location. You swear they're in one location, but as you approach, you have to readjust your approach.
Most people wouldn't know, but they have two black dots on the back of their neck. Field guides don't show that part of the bird!
Like many of Cape York Peninsula species, this one also occurs in Papua New Guinea. They nest in arboreal termite mounds by excavating a small hole in the side of the mound.
Special thanks to Brian Venables for showing me this beautiful individual!