Basic Information
Scientific classification
- Chinese name: Yellow-beaked jade
- Scientific name: Syma torotoro, Yellow-billed Kingfisher
- Classification: Climbing birds
- Classification: Order Coraciiformes, Family Kingfisher, Genus Kingfisher
Vital signs data
- Body length: Approximately 20 centimeters
- Weight: 32-52g
- Lifespan: No verification data available.
Significant features
Distribution and Habitat
Yellow-mouthed jadeite is distributed in the Pacific islands (including Taiwan, 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), Australia and New Zealand (including Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania and nearby islands).
Yellow-billed kingfishers inhabit rainforest edges, clearings, forests, rubber plantations, and mangroves. They are commonly seen flying at low altitudes, usually below 500 meters. This species lives on isolated islands.
Appearance
The Yellow-billed Kingfisher is 20 cm in length, with males weighing 32-50 g and females 30-52 g. Adult males have a bright red head and neck, with black lores and eyes. The neck is black on each side. The cape is black, and the shoulder blades are dark green. The lower back and foretail are bluish-green. The tail tip is bluish-purple. The chin and throat are white, and the breast is reddish-orange. The flanks, belly, tail fin, and forewings are yellowish-brown and pale yellow or cream. The base of the tail is black. The bill and upper jaw edges are bright yellow. The iris is dark brown, and the legs are yellow with dark brown claws. Adult females differ from males, with slightly lighter colors on the sides, belly, and tail. Juveniles resemble females, with red crown feathers. They have a large space around the black eyes, and dark spots on the cheeks and breast feathers. The bill is greyish-black.
The beak is thick and long, resembling a chisel, with a relatively wide base, a straight beak peak, a rounded ridge, and no nasal grooves on either side; the wings are rounded, with the first primary flight feather being the same length as or slightly shorter than the seventh primary flight feather, and the second, third, and fourth primary flight feathers being nearly the same length; the base of the primary flight feathers has white spots; the tail is rounded.
Detailed introduction
The yellow-billed kingfisher, scientifically known as *Syma torotoro*, has three subspecies: 1. *Syma torotoro torotoro*, distributed in New Guinea, Papua, and Aru. 2. *Syma torotoro ochracea*, distributed in Don Tercasto Island and the York Peninsula. 3. *Syma torotoro flavirostris*, distributed in Australia.
Yellow-billed kingfishers typically hunt alone or in pairs. Like most kingfishers, they are entirely carnivorous, often searching for prey in leaves or mud. Their main diet consists of invertebrates such as crickets, spiders, scorpions, and snails. They also eat small vertebrates such as small fish, snakes, and lizards.
The breeding season for the Yellow-billed Emerald is typically between November and January in Queensland, and September and October in New Guinea and Papua New Guinea (though it can also occur in March and August). They nest in earthen cliffs or river embankments, digging oval-shaped tunnels with their beaks, 9 to 12 cm deep and 9.5 cm wide. These tunnels are generally unlined. The female lays 3 or 4 eggs directly on the ground in the nest. Some also burrow into the trunks of palm trees or other trees, up to 3 meters above the ground.
Listed in the IUCN Red List of Birds, ver 3.1: 2008.
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