Mountain Kingfisher Syma megarhyncha Scientific name definitions

24 cm; male 52–60 g, female 49–63 g. Male nominate race rufous head and underparts , black loral patch, black nape patch, greenish-blue upperparts, dark blue tail, black wing feathers with bluish edges and tips; bill bright yellow, dusky ridge along culmen, serrated edges at tip of upper mandible; iris dark brown; legs and feet dull yellow. Differs from very similar S. torotoro in larger size, larger black spot in front of eye, dark on culmen. Female black crown, black neck patches joined across hindneck, paler underparts. Juvenile grey-black bill, larger black area around eye, dusky-tipped feathers on cheeks and breast. Race wellsi slightly larger and darker than nominate, but shorter-billed; <em>sellamontis</em> slightly smaller, bill totally yellow.

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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.

Primary forest and secondary growth, mainly between 1200 m and 2200 m, occasionally down to 760 m. Replaced at lower altitudes by S. torotoro.

Presumably sedentary.

Insects, larvae, and small lizards. Perches for long periods in middle and upper canopy, before diving for prey in the foliage or on the ground.

Loud trilling call , lasting several seconds, seems identical to that of S. torotoro.

Lays in Dec in Papua New Guinea. Nest-site a hole in an earth bank or a hole in tree. Clutch 2 eggs; no information on incubation and fledging periods.

Not globally threatened. Locally common, but generally scarce. Rather little-known species; more information is required on its biology.