Javan Kingfisher

About the Javan Kingfisher

The Javan kingfisher (Halcyon cyanoventris), sometimes called the blue-bellied kingfisher or Java kingfisher, is a medium-sized kingfisher (subfamily Halcyoninae) endemic to the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali. The brightly-colored Javan kingfisher has the large head and bill typical of kingfishers, although the species is less suited for aquatic hunting than many of its relatives and catches much of its prey on land or near the water's edge. The highly territorial bird lays its round white eggs in burrows excavated from earthen walls and riverbanks.

The Javan kingfisher was first described in 1818 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot, who gave it the scientific name Alcedo cyanoventris. In 1821, William Swainson created the genus Halcyon for some of kingfishers — primarily those with stronger, thicker, more rounded beaks. The bird is today listed under the genus Halcyon, referring to the "Halcyon" bird of Greek legend, which contains 11 species of large, heavy-billed kingfishers. Halcyon kingfishers generally prefer woodlands and primarily consume small terrestrial animals rather than fish. H. cyanoventris forms a superspecies with the white-throated... Wikipedia →