Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher

About the Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher

The buff-breasted paradise kingfisher (Tanysiptera sylvia) is a bird in the tree kingfisher subfamily, Halcyoninae. It is native to Australia and New Guinea. It migrates in November from New Guinea to its breeding grounds in the rainforest of North Queensland, Australia. Like all paradise kingfishers, this bird has colourful plumage with a red bill, buff breast and distinctive long tail streamers.

The buff-breasted paradise kingfisher was first described by the English ornithologist and bird artist John Gould in 1850 as Tanysiptera sylvia from specimens supplied by the naturalist John MacGillivray, which had been collected on the Cape York Peninsula in Australia. The genus name is derived from the Greek tanuo meaning 'long' and pteron meaning 'wing', whilst sylvia is from the Latin silva, meaning 'forest'. Until recently the species was known as the white-tailed kingfisher. The name buff-breasted paradise kingfisher was first used in Australia by Graham Pizzey in 1980.

There are two subspecies: T. sylvia sylvia Gould, 1850 – the nominate subspecies, breeds in northern Queensland and winters in New Guinea T. s. salvadoriana Ramsay, 1878 – in honour of the Italian ornithologist... Wikipedia →