Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher Tanysiptera sylvia Scientific name definitions

29–37 cm, including tail-streamers; male 38–61 g, female 44–61 g. Both sexes of nominate race have blue head , blackish eyeband  , dark blue upperparts with white spot on upper back, white rump  ; tail blue, white elongated central feathers remaining narrow to tip , 7–18 cm longer than rest of tail; underparts orange-buff; bill  red; iris dark brown to black (1 Bishop, K. D., and D. N. Jones (2001). The montane avifauna of west New Britain, with special reference to the Nakanai Mountains. Emu 101(3):205–220. Close ); legs and feet pink-red. Female differs from male in having shorter tail, blue fringes to central rectrices and variable dusky streaks on white back and rump. Juvenile duller, with buffy forehead, buff-tipped wing-feathers, black back and buffy-white patch above it, white rump feathers have blue fringes and orange-buff feathers of underparts are fringed and tipped black, and bill brown, with yellowish legs and feet (2 Fry, C. H., K. Fry, and A. Harris (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Race <em>salvadoriana</em> is like nominate but paler below, with a greenish tinge to blue of head and wings.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Monsoon forest, and lowland, notophyll vine and hill forest, usually with tall understorey and sparse ground cover; to 900 m in Australia, but usually below 500 m in New Guinea. Generally found near watercourses, and can be present in isolated patches of forest, but rarely in wet sclerophyll forest. Termite mounds an essential part of breeding habitat. In some areas sympatric with T. galatea, and then occupies higher levels of forest than latter; in other areas the two are mutually exclusive.

Breeding population in New Guinea probably resident. Nominate race in Queensland migrates to New Guinea after breeding (where no known geographical overlap with resident subspecies) (4 Legge, S., Murphy, S., Igag, P. and Mack, A.L. (2004). Territoriality and density of an Australian migrant, the Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, in the New Guinean non-breeding grounds. Emu. 104(1): 15-20. Close ), although some occasionally remain in Australia: adults fly N in early Apr (Feb–May), and at Innisfail juveniles follow a few weeks later; return migration in early Nov; suggestions that populations on Cape York Peninsula arrive later than those breeding farther S, and that these two populations have different migratory routes, require confirmation. Playback experiments have revealed that Australian breeders of both sexes occupy winter feeding territories in New Guinea at minimum densities of 0·4–1·04 birds/ha (4 Legge, S., Murphy, S., Igag, P. and Mack, A.L. (2004). Territoriality and density of an Australian migrant, the Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, in the New Guinean non-breeding grounds. Emu. 104(1): 15-20. Close ).

Wide variety of invertebrates , from beetles (Coleoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera), mantises (Mantodea), katydids (Phaneropterinae) (1 Bishop, K. D., and D. N. Jones (2001). The montane avifauna of west New Britain, with special reference to the Nakanai Mountains. Emu 101(3):205–220. Close ), cockroaches (Blattodea), cicadas (Cicadidae), wasps and bees (Hymenoptera), and larvae, to centipedes (Chilopoda), spiders  , earthworms  (Oligochaeta) and snails (Gastropoda); also vertebrates, including frogs, tortoises (Pleurodira) and lizards (Scincidae). Usually perches low (< 4 m) above ground (1 Bishop, K. D., and D. N. Jones (2001). The montane avifauna of west New Britain, with special reference to the Nakanai Mountains. Emu 101(3):205–220. Close ). Snails have their shells removed by adults before being fed to nestlings. Prey taken from foliage in sally-hovers; also from the ground, where probably digs in the soil for earthworms and larvae; food items may be bashed against branch prior to ingestion (1 Bishop, K. D., and D. N. Jones (2001). The montane avifauna of west New Britain, with special reference to the Nakanai Mountains. Emu 101(3):205–220. Close ).

In Australia, piping call of 4–5 (up to 14) loud “chop” notes that become higher in pitch; soft downward-inflected trill given near nest, harsh, fast and loud  when agitated; harsh screeching chatter in alarm and when driving off conspecifics; also soft coughs; young from two weeks old have very noisy rasping screeches. Nominate sylvia generally rather quiet on wintering grounds in New Guinea, except when provoked using playback (4 Legge, S., Murphy, S., Igag, P. and Mack, A.L. (2004). Territoriality and density of an Australian migrant, the Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, in the New Guinean non-breeding grounds. Emu. 104(1): 15-20. Close ). In E New Guinea, salvadoriana is vocal when breeding; gives quiet rapid and purring trill on one pitch, usually decelerating, also squawks, rattles, high-pitched “see”, and shrill, descending series of four upslurred notes, “krei, krei, krei, krei”.

Laying dates Feb in mainland Papua New Guinea, and Nov –Feb in Queensland. Nest  excavated by both adults, generally in termitarium on ground but sometimes in arboreal one, and a nest in Queensland was on a mound on a level streambank; in ground termitarium, nest-tunnel 13–17 cm above the ground, 4–5 cm wide and 13–20 cm long, ending in unlined nest-chamber 14 cm high and 17 cm wide; same nest-site may be used repeatedly for up to eight years. Clutch usually three eggs  (2–4), laid at one-day intervals; both parents incubate, but only the female at night, incubation period 26–28 days; in Mackay (Queensland) study, only the female brooded the young, but both adults fed them, at rate of 1·6–12 feeding visits per hour; young squeak loudly in response to any stimulus; fledging period 26–35 days; juveniles fed by parents for 30 days after leaving nest. Goannas (Varanus) frequently raid nests, and are attacked by adults. Ringed individuals have lived at least four years.

Not globally threatened. Locally common in parts of its range, scarce or absent in others. Density of eight pairs in 8 ha recorded at Innisfail, on NE Queensland coast, and a breeding pair stayed within territory of 0·33 ha; on Cape York Peninsula up to five nests/ha. Habitat loss is reducing some populations. Some birds of nominate race, while migrating at night, are killed by hitting lighthouses on the Great Barrier Reef or by flying into windows.