Basic Information
Scientific classification
- Chinese name: White-headed jade
- Scientific name: Todirhamphus saurophaga, White-headed Kingfisher
- Classification: Climbing birds
- Genus and species: Order Coraciiformes, Family Kingfisher, Genus Aldebaran
Vital signs data
- Body length: Approximately 28 centimeters
- Weight: No verification information available.
- Lifespan: No verification data available.
Significant features
It is a type of large kingfisher that is frequently encountered in coastal areas.
Distribution and Habitat
White-headed kingfishers are 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), specifically the Wallace Region (the area east of the traditional Wallace Line (from the eastern waters of Mindanao through the Makassar Strait to the area between Bali and Lombok) and west of Papua New Guinea, including Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, the Southwest Islands, the Moluccas (Maluku Islands), and East Timor in Indonesia).
White-headed kingfishers typically inhabit dense forests and riverbanks near water.
Appearance
The White-headed Kingfisher, measuring 28 cm in length, is a large kingfisher commonly encountered in coastal areas. Sexes are identical, with white heads and bodies, blue wings, black eye stripes, black eyes, a large greyish-black beak, and a tail that is lighter in color than its wings. A subspecies, the Blue-capped White-collared Kingfisher, exists.
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 white-headed kingfisher, scientifically known as *Todirhamphus saurophaga*, has three subspecies: 1. *Todirhamphus saurophaga saurophagus*, distributed in the Moluccas, New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, and Bougainville in the Solomon Islands; 2. *Todirhamphus saurophaga anachoreta*, distributed in the Bismarck Islands; and 3. *Todirhamphus saurophaga admiralitatis*, distributed in the Bismarck Islands.
White-headed kingfishers typically hunt alone or in pairs. Like most forest kingfishers, they are entirely carnivorous, often searching for prey in leaves or soil. 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.
White-headed kingfishers burrow holes in tree trunks to make their nests. The eggs are nearly round, pure white, and about 29.4 × 26.2 mm in size.
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