Basic Information
Scientific classification
- Chinese name: Chestnut-backed Jade
- Scientific name: Halcyon badia, Chocolate-backed kingfisher
- Classification: Climbing birds
- Family and Genus: Order Coraciiformes, Family Kingfisher, Genus Kingfisher
Vital signs data
- Body length: No verification information available.
- Weight: No verification information available.
- Lifespan: No verification data available.
Significant features
Distribution and Habitat
Chestnut-backed jadeite is distributed in south-central Africa (including the southern Arabian Peninsula and the entire African continent south of the Sahara Desert (Tropic of Cancer)).
The Chestnut-backed Emerald occupies a territory between sea level and 1400 meters. It typically inhabits dense tropical rainforests and waterside areas such as ponds.
Appearance
In adult Chestnut-backed Kingfishers, the head is mahogany black with a dark brown cape. The upper part of the tail is black, the middle section is mostly bright sky blue, and the tip is dark. The wing coverts are dark. The bill is red or brownish-red, and a dark brown iris surrounds the red eyes. The legs are reddish-purple. Juveniles differ from adults, with a significantly darker breast coat. The tail shows fewer small black spots and less blue. The chicks have an orange-tipped beak.
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 chestnut-backed kingfisher, scientifically known as Halcyon badia, Chocolate-backed kingfisher, has three subspecies.
The Chestnut-backed Kingfisher typically hunts alone or in pairs. Like most forest kingfishers, it is entirely carnivorous, often searching for prey in leaves or soil. Its main diet consists of invertebrates such as crickets, spiders, scorpions, and snails. It also eats small vertebrates such as small fish, snakes, and lizards.
Chestnut-backed kingfishers nest on earthen cliffs or river embankments, using their beaks to dig tunnel-like burrows, 60 cm deep, 20 cm wide, and 10 cm high, oval in shape. These burrows are generally unlined. Eggs are laid directly on the ground inside the nest. Some also burrow into tree trunks to make nests, which are 4-5 meters above the ground and are often entwined with vines.
Listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
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