Animalia Life

Caridonax fulgidus
SUBFAMILY
Halcyoninae
TAXONOMY
Halcyon fuligidus Gould, 1857, Lombok. Two subspecies. Looks superficially like a Halcyon species, but shows more similarity to paradise kingfishers, kookaburras, and Actenoides species.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Blue-and-white kingfisher, glittering kingfisher; French: Martin-chasseur йtincelant; German: Glitzerliest; Spanish: Alciуn Culiblanco.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
12 in (30 cm), no mass data. Large kingfisher, blue-black above, white below and on rump, with bright red bill, feet and eye ring. Deep orange iris distinctive.
DISTRIBUTION
Main islands of Lesser Sundas archipelago in Indonesia, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, and Besar.
HABITAT
Primary and secondary forests, including wooded areas with cultivation.
BEHAVIOR
Calls with long rapid series of yapping notes, one per second, sometimes for over half a minute. Cocks the tail when calling, like a kookaburra.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Known to eat insects and their larvae but no description of how they are captured.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Each pair is territorial and excavates a nest tunnel in an earth bank. One nest had two eggs, another a single chick.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Still considered widespread and fairly common, despite restricted range and alteration of favored habitats in primary evergreen and deciduous forests. Biology poorly known.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known, though attractive to bird-watching tourists with handsome colors and unique taxonomic status.

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