Basic Information
Scientific classification
- Chinese name: Sulawesi Three-Toed Kingfisher
- Scientific name: Small Three-Toed Kingfisher, *Ceyx fallax* Schlegel, *Sulawesi Pygmy Kingfisher*
- Classification: Climbing birds
- Genus and species: Order Coraciiformes, Family Kingfisher, Genus *Tripterygium*
Vital signs data
- Body length: No verification information available.
- Weight: No verification information available.
- Lifespan: No verification data available.
Significant features
Distribution and Habitat
The Sulawesi Three-Toed Kingfisher is distributed across the Pacific islands (including Taiwan, the Dongsha Islands, Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands, Nansha Islands, as well as the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Java in Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea), east of the Wallace Line (the area east of Papua New Guinea, extending from the eastern coast of Mindanao through the Makassar Strait to Bali and Lombok, including Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, the Southwest Islands, the Moluccas (Maluku Islands), and East Timor in Indonesia).
The Sulawesi Three-Toed Kingfisher typically inhabits dense forests and riverbanks near water.
Appearance
The Sulawesi Three-Toed Kingfisher is very small and similar to the Three-Toed Kingfisher. It is a reddish-yellow kingfisher. Its forehead is black; head and neck are orange-red; a white patch of feathers runs along the back of the neck. Shoulder feathers are greyish-brown; back is sapphire blue; tail feathers are greyish-brown, except for the tail feathers, the centers of other parts are purplish-red and reflective. Wings are greyish-brown. Chin is white; throat is pale egg-yolk white; ear coverts are purplish-red and reflective; from below the bill to the breast, abdomen, and undertail coverts are egg-yolk yellow, darker from below the bill to the breast and undertail coverts, and lighter on the abdomen.
Brown iris; red beak and feet. Only 3 toes; tail shorter than beak; long, pointed wings; plumage not black and white. Thick, straight, long and strong beak with a rounded ridge; indistinct nasal groove; long wingtips, the first primary flight feather slightly shorter, the third and fourth longest; short, rounded tail; bright and glossy body plumage, often with blue or green hues.
Detailed introduction
The Sulawesi Three-Toed Kingfisher, scientifically known as *Ceyx fallax* Schlegel, *Sulawesi Pygmy Kingfisher*, has two subspecies: (1. *Ceyx fallax sangirensis*, distributed on Sangihe and Talaud islands; 2. *Ceyx fallax fallax*, distributed along the coasts of Sulawesi and Lembeh.)
The Sulawesi Three-Toed Kingfisher typically hunts alone or in pairs. Like most forest kingfishers, it is entirely carnivorous, often searching for prey in leaves or mud. Its main diet consists of insects, locusts, flies, and spiders, but it also eats various aquatic animals such as water beetles, small crabs, frogs, and small fish.
The Sulawesi Three-Toed Kingfisher typically nests on earthen cliffs or river embankments, using its beak to dig tunnel-like burrows that are 25 cm deep, 13-15 cm wide, and 5-7 cm in diameter and height. These burrows are usually unlined. The female lays 3 to 7 eggs directly on the ground in the nest. Some also burrow into tree trunks to make nests.
Listed as Near Threatened (NT) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver 3.1: 2008).
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