Society Kingfisher Todiramphus veneratus Scientific name definitions

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Society Kingfisher (Moorea)

21 cm. Adult has brown upperparts , with contour feathers having pale buff, or almost pinkish buff, fringes, with narrow whitish collar, outer webs of primaries and greater wing-coverts are washed dull green, tail brown suffused dull green, and white underparts (with some feathers on throat- and breast-sides having buffy or dusky fringes). Juvenile has chin, throat and breast heavily marked with soft dark brown streaks. In contrast, <em>T. veneratus</em> and <em>T. tutus</em> both have largely dark green or turquoise upperparts; the female of T. veneratus is duller but has a strongly defined blackish-brown breastband (see also Taxonomy comments).

Society Kingfisher (Tahiti)

21 cm. Male has blue-green upperparts , browner on forehead and crown; white underparts , variable broad pale rufous breastband often broken in centre; upper mandible black, lower mandible horn with black cutting edges and tip; iris dark brown; legs and feet black. Distinguished from T. tutus by breastband, no white eyebrow or collar. Female has duller upperparts, blackish breastband . Juvenile characterized by browner upperparts, black streaking on lower throat and breastband, buffy flanks and belly.

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Society Kingfisher (Moorea)

Society Kingfisher (Tahiti)

Hitherto considered conspecific with T. youngi. Traditionally thought to form a species-group with several other Australasian and Polynesian species (see T. sanctus); genetically, T. youngi and the present species form a clade with T. ruficollaris, T. tutus and T. gambieri gertrudae (nominate gambieri was not sampled) (1 Andersen, M.J., Shult, H.T., Cibois, A., Thibault, J.-C., Filardi, C.E. and Moyle, R.G. (2015). Rapid diversification and secondary sympatry in Australo-Pacific kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae: Todiramphus). Royal Society Open Science. 2: 140375. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.140375. Close ). Monotypic.

Society Kingfisher (Moorea)

Moorea (Society Is).

Society Kingfisher (Tahiti)

Tahiti (Society Is).

Society Kingfisher (Moorea)

Primary and secondary forest up to 300 m.

Society Kingfisher (Tahiti)

Society Kingfisher (Moorea)

Society Kingfisher (Tahiti)

Society Kingfisher (Moorea)

No detailed studies, but presumably very similar to T. veneratus.

Society Kingfisher (Tahiti)

Insects and their larvae, fish, crustaceans, and small lizards. Sits on a conspicuous perch in middle to upper levels of the canopy, watching for prey, often for long periods; food taken from the ground, but insects also caught in flight or among foliage; will dive into shallow water for aquatic prey.

Society Kingfisher (Moorea)

Described as a measured “kleeu, kleeu, kleeu” . No known differences from T. veneratus.

Society Kingfisher (Tahiti)

Society Kingfisher (Moorea)

Not well known, but excavates nests in trees such as Neonauclea fosteri, with nestbuilding observed in late Nov, copulation in late Dec, incubation in mid Jan and food-carrying in mid Feb. Groups of three adults have been observed cooperatively excavating nest cavities, incubating, and provisioning young; cooperative breeding appears to be widespread, although pairs occur too, with mean territory sizes estimated at 0·82 ha (range 0·57–1·19) for pairs and 1·23 ha (0·85–1·9) for trios (2 Kesler, D.C., Ghestemme, T., Portier, E. and Gouni, A. (2010). Cooperative breeding of the Society Kingfisher (Todiramphus veneratus). Wilson J. Orn.. 122(1): 46–50. Close ).

Society Kingfisher (Tahiti)

Lays in Oct–Dec. Nest excavated in rotting branch or tree trunk, up to 11 m above ground. Clutch three white eggs. No other information.

Society Kingfisher (Moorea)

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Society Islands EBA. Population unknown, but is considered to be declining and the species is usually said to be uncommon; however, recent work suggests that densities are comparatively high, especially compared to other Pacific Todiramphus that nest cooperatively. Presumably some habitat loss and degradation resulting from conversion for tourism, expanding human settlements and small-scale agriculture. In addition, 35% of native vegetation on Moorea (49 km²) has already been lost due to nine alien plant species introduced during the European period, which have led to an overall fragmentation level of 70% for native vegetation, rising to 95% in the 0–400 m elevation range apparently favoured by the kingfisher. Just 1% of the island can be considered to possess pristine vegetation and the remaining area (64%) is highly altered. Invasive plants may aggravate the risk of biodiversity loss caused by deforestation and the human-accelerated frequency of fires, but their impact on the kingfisher is unclear.

Society Kingfisher (Tahiti)

Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Society Islands EBA. Widespread and common, but population is thought to be declining, although there was no evidence that the species’ range contracted between the 1920s and early 1990s. No known threats, but in some areas habitat loss or degradation must be a potential threat, at least in the future.