Sulawesi Dwarf-Kingfisher Ceyx fallax Scientific name definitions

A tiny-bodied and very attractive kingfisher, the Sulawesi Dwarf-Kingfisher is a denizen of Sulawesi’s lowland and hill forests, where it often perches inconspicuously in the shade—despite its bright rufous-lilac and azure-blue plumage. Like many forest-based kingfishers, Ceyx fallax is not particularly tied to water. Although relatively common where the species occurs, its shy, unobtrusive nature means there are few published observations and little of this species’ breeding biology is known. Until recently, the Sulawesi Dwarf-Kingfisher was considered conspecific with the Critically Endangered Sangihe Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx sangirensis), which is confined to the northern Wallacean and long heavily deforested island of Sangihe; the latter species is quite possibly extinct, having not been certainly recorded since the first (and only) specimens were collected in the last third of the 19th century.

A diminutive forest-dwelling kingfisher with a bright red bill and a vestigial fourth toe. The principally rufous plumage contrasts with the black-and-blue crown, azure rump and uppertail-coverts, and white throat and neck patch.

Being the only Ceyx on Sulawesi, this species is unlikely to be mistaken for any other kingfisher in its range. Both Blue-eared Kingfisher (Alcedo meninting) and Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) have much bluer upperparts and a black maxilla (Common Kingfisher has a black mandible, too), and these species are more confined to riverine habitats than Sulawesi Dwarf-Kingfisher. The otherwise similar, but entirely allopatric Philippine Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx melanurus), Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx rufidorsa), and Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca) all have a rufous-lilac crown and rump.

Ruddy Kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda)is a considerably larger species with a much heavier bill, shows hardly any blue in the plumage, and is more tied to water than the present species.

Natal Down

Not described.

Juvenile

The upperparts are said to be darker and duller than on the adults, with a less violaceous wash (1 Fry, C. H., K. Fry, and A. Harris (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), whilst Eaton et al. (2 Eaton, J. A., B. van Balen, N. W. Brickle, and F. E. Rheindt (2016). Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ) also reported the underparts to be more rufous than in adults.

Adult

Characterized by a black crown, each feather with a broad glossy blue tip creating a spangled blue-and-black appearance. The head sides are mostly rufous (including the lores), with a more lilac superciliary area, cheeks, and moustachial area; and a white neck patch and throat. The upperparts are dark rufous-brown with a bright, contrasting cobalt-blue back, rump, and uppertail-coverts. The wings are brown-black, with the lesser and median coverts tipped glossy lilac; the greater coverts, tertials, and secondaries are broadly edged dark rufous. The underwing-coverts and underparts are orange, although the breast has a slightly violaceous wash.

No information.

Bill

Bright red in adult (1 Fry, C. H., K. Fry, and A. Harris (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); can be more or less blackish in juvenile (2 Eaton, J. A., B. van Balen, N. W. Brickle, and F. E. Rheindt (2016). Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Iris

Dark brown.

Legs and Feet

Vivid orange-red. The fourth toe is vestigial (not nailed) with a single bone less than 2 mm long (1 Fry, C. H., K. Fry, and A. Harris (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Linear Measurements

Overall length 12–13 cm (both sexes).

Linear measurements, in mm, sample size unknown, from Fry et al. (1 Fry, C. H., K. Fry, and A. Harris (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ):

Wing length also reported as 57–62 mm (sexes and sample size unknown) (3 White, C. M. N., and M. D. Bruce (1986). The Birds of Wallacea (Sulawesi, the Moluccas & Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia). An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 7. British Ornithologists’ Union, London, UK. Close ).

Mass

Mean weight of both sexes: 18 ± 1.6 g (range 15.5–20.5 g, n = 16) (M. Waltert in 4 Dunning, J. B., Jr. (2008). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses. Second edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA. Close ).

Dacelo fallax Schlegel, 1866, Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor de Dierkunde 3:187.—mountainous parts of Sulawesi.

This name is based on eight syntypes, all held at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, and all but one collected by Carl Benjamin Hermann von Rosenberg (1817‒1888): two males (RMNH 88501 and RMNH 88502) taken at Bone on 24 November and 25 November 1863, respectively; an adult female collected at Gorontalo on 7 March 1864 (RMNH 88503); an immature female from 4 April 1864 (RMNH 88505), an immature male taken on 6 May 1864 (RMNH 88506), an adult female from 10 May 1864 (RMNH 88507), and another adult female taken on 26 November 1864 (RMNH 88504), all at Toula-bello; and an adult male collected at Menado sometime in 1865 by L. D. H. Renesse van Duivenbode (RMNH 88508); some doubt exists as to whether RMNH 88504 was in fact collected on 26 April 1864 [which date seems now to be more generally accepted], and RMNH 88505 and 88506 on 29 April 1864 and 7 May 1864, respectively (5 van den Hoek Ostende, L. W., R. W. R. J. Dekker, and G. O. Keijl (1997). Type-specimens of Birds in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden. Part 1. Non-passerines. NNM Technical Bulletin 1. Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden, The Netherlands. Close ).

Ceyx fallax is usually treated as a polytypic species including Sangihe Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx sangirensis) as a subspecies (6 Peters, J. L. (1945) Check-list of birds of the world. Volume 5. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close , 7 Forshaw, J. M., and W. T. Cooper (1983). Kingfishers and Related Birds. Alcedinidae. Ceryle to Cittura. Volume 1. Lansdowne Editions, Sydney, Australia. Close , 3 White, C. M. N., and M. D. Bruce (1986). The Birds of Wallacea (Sulawesi, the Moluccas & Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia). An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 7. British Ornithologists’ Union, London, UK. Close , 8 Ripley, S. D., and B. M. Beehler (1987). The species status of the Malaysian three-toed kingfishers (Ceyx) – a re-assessment. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 107(4):145–151. Close , 9 Andrew, P. (1992). The Birds of Indonesia. A Checklist (Peters’ Sequence). Kukila Checklist 1. Indonesian Ornithological Society, Jakarta, Indonesia. Close , 10 Inskipp, T., N. Lindsey, and W. Duckworth (1996). An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of the Oriental Region. Oriental Bird Club, Sandy, UK. Close , 11 Coates, B. J., and K. D. Bishop (1997). A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea: Sulawesi, The Moluccas and Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. Dove Publications, Alderley, Queensland, Australia. Close , 12 Dickinson, E. C., and J. V. Remsen Jr., Editors (2013). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth edition. Volume 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close , 13 Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood (2019). The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. Close , 14 Gill, F., D. Donsker, and P. Rasmussen, Editors (2020). IOC World Bird List v10.1. Close ), but del Hoyo and Collar (15 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2014). HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ) recognized the two taxa as separate species, elevating sangirensis on account of its significantly (10%) larger size [score 2, using the Tobias et al. criteria 16 Tobias, J. A., N. Seddon, C. N. Spottiswoode, J. D. Pilgrim, L. D. C. Fishpool, and N. J. Collar (2010). Quantitative criteria for species delimitation. Ibis 152(4):724–746. Close ]; its much more extensive blue-spotted black crown, with larger blue spots and area covering the forehead, supercilium, and mantle (versus none of these areas in Ceyx fallax) [score 2]; its royal blue versus shining turquoise rump and uppertail-coverts [score 2]; and its much brighter rufous dorsal area and wing-coverts (blackish rufous in Ceyx fallax) [score 2]. Although they stopped short of endorsing the split, Eaton et al. (2 Eaton, J. A., B. van Balen, N. W. Brickle, and F. E. Rheindt (2016). Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ) agreed that specific treatment for Ceyx sangirensis is “possibly warranted based on size and plumage traits.”

In their original description of the presumably closely related Ceyx sangirensis, Meyer and Wiglesworth (17 Meyer, A. B., and L. W. Wiglesworth (1898). The Birds of Celebes and the Neighbouring Islands. R. Friedländer und Sohn, Berlin, Germany. Close ) treated both Ceyx fallax and Ceyx sangirensis in the genus Ceycopsis, differentiating it from Ceyx on account of its fourth (vestigial) toe. Despite this, Peters (6 Peters, J. L. (1945) Check-list of birds of the world. Volume 5. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close ), who otherwise divided the kingfishers by toe-count, preferred to synonymize the two genera, an arrangement that is followed by all current global taxonomic authorities (12 Dickinson, E. C., and J. V. Remsen Jr., Editors (2013). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth edition. Volume 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close , 15 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2014). HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close , 13 Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood (2019). The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. Close , 14 Gill, F., D. Donsker, and P. Rasmussen, Editors (2020). IOC World Bird List v10.1. Close ).

None reported.

Monotypic.

Despite its morphological affinity to Philippine Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx melanurus), Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx rufidorsa), and Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca), genetic studies have consistently shown Ceyx fallax to form a clade sister to all other Ceyx species, having diverged an estimated seven million years ago; Sangihe Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx sangirensis) has never been sampled molecularly (18 Moyle, R. G., J. Fuchs, E. Pasquet, and B. D. Marks (2007). Feeding behavior, toe count, and the phylogenetic relationships among alcedinine kingfishers (Alcedininae). Journal of Avian Biology 38:317–326. Close , 19 Andersen, M. J., C. H. Oliveros, C. E. Filardi, and R. G. Moyle (2013). Phylogeography of the Variable Dwarf-kingfisher Ceyx lepidus (Aves: Alcedinidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. Auk 130(1):118–131. Close , 20 Andersen, M. J., J. M. McCullough, W. M. Mauck, B. T. Smith, and R. G. Moyle (2018). A phylogeny of kingfishers reveals an Indomalayan origin and elevated rates of diversification on oceanic islands. Journal of Biogeography 45(2):269–281. Close ).

The genus Ceyx has its origins in a Greek myth, wherein Ceyx was drowned at sea before metamorphosing as a kingfisher (along with his wife Alcyone). The Latin word fallax means deceitful (21 Jobling, J. A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. A. & C. Black, London, UK. Close ).

Nothing known.

Confined to Sulawesi (3 White, C. M. N., and M. D. Bruce (1986). The Birds of Wallacea (Sulawesi, the Moluccas & Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia). An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 7. British Ornithologists’ Union, London, UK. Close , 2 Eaton, J. A., B. van Balen, N. W. Brickle, and F. E. Rheindt (2016). Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), where it is presumably widespread in lowland forest across the island, with records from the Minahasa Peninsula (22 Rozendaal, F. G., and R. W. R. J. Dekker (1989). Annotated checklist of the birds of the Dumoga-Bone National Park, North Sulawesi. Kukila 4(3–4):85–109. Close , 23 Bororing, R. F., I. Hunowu, Y. Hunowu, E. Maneasa, J. Mole, M. H. Nusalawo, F. S. Talangamin, and M. F. Wangko (2000). Birds of the Manembonembo Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Kukila 11:58–72. Close , 24 Riley, J., and J. Mole (2001). The birds of Gunung Ambang Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Forktail 17:57–66. Close , 25 Riley, J., Y. Hunowu, J. Mole, and M. F. Wangko (2003). Noteworthy records of birds from the Panua Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi. Kukila 12:17–26. Close ), Central Sulawesi (26 Watling, D. (1983). Ornithological notes from Sulawesi. Emu 83(4):247–261. Close , 27 van den Berg, A. B., and C. A. W. Bosman (1986). Supplementary notes on some birds of Lore Lindu Reserve, central Sulawesi. Forktail 1:7–13. Close ), Southeast Sulawesi (28 Wardill, J. C. (1995). The Report of the Ornithological Expedition to the Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park, South-east Sulawesi, Indonesia. 9th September - 9th November 1995. Sulawesi ’95 Ornithological Expedition & Symbiose Birdwatchers Club, Leeds, UK, and Jakarta, Indonesia. Close , 29 Wardill, J. C., P. S. Fox, D. J. Hoare, W. Marthy, and K. Anggraini (1999). Birds of the Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park, south-east Sulawesi. Kukila 10:91–114. Close , 30 Berryman, A. J., and J. A. Eaton (2020). The avifauna of the Mekongga Mountains, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, and notes on a vocally distinct Locustella grasshopper warbler. BirdingASIA 33:27–35. Close ), South Sulawesi (31 Stresemann, E. (1940). Die Vögel von Celebes. Teil IIIB. Systematik und Biologie. Journal of Ornithology 88(3):389–487. Close ), and Buton Island (32 Catterall, M. (1997). Results of the 1996 Bird Survey of Buton Island, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Wallacea Development Institute, and Ecosurveys Ltd, Jakarta, and Spitsby. Close , 33 Martin, T. E., D. J. Kelly, N. T. Keogh, D. Heriyadi, H. A. Singer, and G. A. Blackburn (2012). The avifauna of Lambusango Forest Reserve, Buton Island, south-east Sulawesi, with additional sightings from southern Buton. Forktail 28:107–112. Close ).

No changes reported.

On Sulawesi, the species inhabits primary lowland and hill forest, being sometimes found in selectively logged and tall secondary forest, as well as in plantations and even secondary scrub dominated by Macaranga sp. and Piper aduncum (23 Bororing, R. F., I. Hunowu, Y. Hunowu, E. Maneasa, J. Mole, M. H. Nusalawo, F. S. Talangamin, and M. F. Wangko (2000). Birds of the Manembonembo Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Kukila 11:58–72. Close ). It principally occurs below 600 m (3 White, C. M. N., and M. D. Bruce (1986). The Birds of Wallacea (Sulawesi, the Moluccas & Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia). An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 7. British Ornithologists’ Union, London, UK. Close , 2 Eaton, J. A., B. van Balen, N. W. Brickle, and F. E. Rheindt (2016). Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), but has been recorded to ca. 1,000 m at Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi (26 Watling, D. (1983). Ornithological notes from Sulawesi. Emu 83(4):247–261. Close ). Like other Ceyx, Sulawesi Dwarf-Kingfisher is not dependent on water (1 Fry, C. H., K. Fry, and A. Harris (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Presumably resident and sedentary (1 Fry, C. H., K. Fry, and A. Harris (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Very poorly known.

Main Foods Taken

Presumably invertebrates and small vertebrates.

Food Capture and Consumption

No information beyond that it perches quietly for long periods, low down in the forest, occasionally bobbing its head.

Major Food Items

A grasshopper (Orthoptera) and an 11 cm-long lizard have been recorded (1 Fry, C. H., K. Fry, and A. Harris (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Poorly known. Two vocalizations were described by Eaton et al. (2 Eaton, J. A., B. van Balen, N. W. Brickle, and F. E. Rheindt (2016). Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ): (1) a series of fewer than five high-pitched, rapidly repeated, insect-like notes, ts-ts-ts-ts-ts, lasting ca. 1 second; and (2) a downslurred, high-pitched tsssst , duration ca. 0.4 second. Both of these vocalizations had also been reported by Bororing et al. (23 Bororing, R. F., I. Hunowu, Y. Hunowu, E. Maneasa, J. Mole, M. H. Nusalawo, F. S. Talangamin, and M. F. Wangko (2000). Birds of the Manembonembo Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Kukila 11:58–72. Close ), wherein the second was described as a thin, repeated, high-pitched seee, and the first as a chirping siiiiiiiiit ... siiuiiiiiit...siiiii.

None documented.

Almost no data, although most facets of this species’ breeding biology are likely to be comparable to other Wallacean Ceyx.

There is a single nesting record from Lore Lindu National Park (Central Sulawesi) in October 1979 (26 Watling, D. (1983). Ornithological notes from Sulawesi. Emu 83(4):247–261. Close ). Elsewhere on mainland Sulawesi, the species was reported to be laying in November (3 White, C. M. N., and M. D. Bruce (1986). The Birds of Wallacea (Sulawesi, the Moluccas & Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia). An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 7. British Ornithologists’ Union, London, UK. Close ), and a gravid female was trapped in early July on Buton Island (34 Martin, T. E., J. Monkhouse, P. G. Akbar, Halliday, J. Baddams, Y. Mulyani, A. Kaban, L. Y. Sumanto, N. T. Keogh, and J. Nightingale (2017). Notes on the distribution, status and natural history of ten species on Buton island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. BirdingASIA 28:74–77. Close ), but there is no further information.

From the single nesting record from Lore Lindu National Park, the nest site was reported as a “tunnel in an earth bank set back from a river” (26 Watling, D. (1983). Ornithological notes from Sulawesi. Emu 83(4):247–261. Close ). No other information.

No information.

No information.

No information.

No information.

No information.

No information.

No information.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Previously (when also lumped with Sangihe Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx sangirensis), it was considered Near Threatened. (35 Stattersfield, A. J., and D. R. Capper, Editors (2000). Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ). This species is confined to the Sulawesi Endemic Bird Area (36 Sujatnika, P. Jepson, T. R. Soehartono, M. J. Crosby, and A. Mardiastuti (1995). Conserving Indonesian Biodiversity: the Endemic Bird Area Approach. [Melestarikan Keanekaragaman Hayati Indonesia: Pendekatan Daerah Burung Endemik]. Government Nature Conservation Department (PHPA) & BirdLife International Indonesia Programme, Jakarta, Indonesia. (In English and Indonesian.) Close , 37 Stattersfield, A. J., M. J. Crosby, A. J. Long, and D. C. Wege (1998). Endemic Bird Areas of the World: Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series 7. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ). While now believed to be generally uncommon or scarce and declining, it is widespread, and is present in Tangkoko-Duasudara Nature Reserve (38 Anon. (1996). Kingfisher study at Tangkoko-Duasudara Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi. Bulletin of the Oriental Bird Club 24:10–11. Close ), Lore Lindu National Park (26 Watling, D. (1983). Ornithological notes from Sulawesi. Emu 83(4):247–261. Close , 27 van den Berg, A. B., and C. A. W. Bosman (1986). Supplementary notes on some birds of Lore Lindu Reserve, central Sulawesi. Forktail 1:7–13. Close ), Manembo Nembo Nature Reserve (23 Bororing, R. F., I. Hunowu, Y. Hunowu, E. Maneasa, J. Mole, M. H. Nusalawo, F. S. Talangamin, and M. F. Wangko (2000). Birds of the Manembonembo Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Kukila 11:58–72. Close ), Panua Nature Reserve (25 Riley, J., Y. Hunowu, J. Mole, and M. F. Wangko (2003). Noteworthy records of birds from the Panua Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi. Kukila 12:17–26. Close ), Gunung Ambang Nature Reserve (24 Riley, J., and J. Mole (2001). The birds of Gunung Ambang Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Forktail 17:57–66. Close ), and Dumoga-Bone National Park (22 Rozendaal, F. G., and R. W. R. J. Dekker (1989). Annotated checklist of the birds of the Dumoga-Bone National Park, North Sulawesi. Kukila 4(3–4):85–109. Close ), as well as Lambusango Forest Reserve on Buton Island (33 Martin, T. E., D. J. Kelly, N. T. Keogh, D. Heriyadi, H. A. Singer, and G. A. Blackburn (2012). The avifauna of Lambusango Forest Reserve, Buton Island, south-east Sulawesi, with additional sightings from southern Buton. Forktail 28:107–112. Close , 34 Martin, T. E., J. Monkhouse, P. G. Akbar, Halliday, J. Baddams, Y. Mulyani, A. Kaban, L. Y. Sumanto, N. T. Keogh, and J. Nightingale (2017). Notes on the distribution, status and natural history of ten species on Buton island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. BirdingASIA 28:74–77. Close ), and the Mekongga Protected Forest (30 Berryman, A. J., and J. A. Eaton (2020). The avifauna of the Mekongga Mountains, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, and notes on a vocally distinct Locustella grasshopper warbler. BirdingASIA 33:27–35. Close ). In the Manembo Nembo Nature Reserve (North Sulawesi), the Sulawesi Dwarf-Kingfisher was described as common by Bororing et al. (23 Bororing, R. F., I. Hunowu, Y. Hunowu, E. Maneasa, J. Mole, M. H. Nusalawo, F. S. Talangamin, and M. F. Wangko (2000). Birds of the Manembonembo Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Kukila 11:58–72. Close ), and formerly G. Heinrich (in 31 Stresemann, E. (1940). Die Vögel von Celebes. Teil IIIB. Systematik und Biologie. Journal of Ornithology 88(3):389–487. Close ) and Watling (26 Watling, D. (1983). Ornithological notes from Sulawesi. Emu 83(4):247–261. Close ) both considered it to be generally quite common across the island. Here, the species was recorded in plantations and secondary scrub, as well as forest, suggesting that, at least in some areas, it is tolerant of forest habitat degradation. Nonetheless, extensive loss of lowland forest throughout Sulawesi is likely to have reduced this species’ area of occurrence.