Banded Kingfisher Lacedo pulchella Scientific name definitions

A relatively small but spectacular kingfisher endowed with striking sexual dimorphism, the Banded Kingfisher is a very distinctive bird of lowland forests in Southeast Asia. Both sexes sport a bright red bill, but whilst the female has rich chestnut-and-black barred upperparts, the male is blue-and-black with an orange face. The species voice, a loud, far-carrying whistled "wheeeoo" followed by approximately 15 shorter whistles, is usually the first indication of its presence, despite their bright coloration. Banded Kingfishers often perch high in the forest canopy where they can be remarkably unobtrusive while constantly and uniquely pumping their crests. Although never abundant, this species is regularly encountered across its rather wide distribution, i.e. from southern Indochina and through the Thai-Malay Peninsula to the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. Males on the Borneo are distinctive from the same species throughout the rest of their range by virtue of their extensively black face, a difference that has led one global checklist to recently treat them as a separate species.