Sacred Kingfisher
Sacred KingfisherSacred KingfisherSacred KingfisherSacred Kingfisher

Sacred Kingfisher

Todiramphus sanctus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered Endemic
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Komodo National Park
38 Verified sightings at Komodo National Park From 2019 to 2026
4,730 Verified sightings across all 28 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Sacred Kingfisher

The sacred kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus) is a medium-sized woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests and river valleys in Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the western Pacific. The binomial name Halcyon sanctus was introduced by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827 who described a sacred kingfisher zoological specimen from New Holland, Australia. Vigors and Horsfield compare it with Alcedo sacra described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788. Gmelin in turn based his description on John Latham's "Sacred King's Fisher" published in 1782. Latham described several varieties, one of which was illustrated in Arthur Phillip's The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay published in 1789. The genus Halcyon was split and the sacred kingfisher was placed in the genus Todiramphus that had been erected by the French surgeon and naturalist René Lesson in 1827. The generic name is derived from the genus Todus (Brisson, 1760), 'tody' (a West Indian insectivorous bird) and Ancient Greek rhamphos (ῥάμφος), 'bill'. The specific epithet is the Latin sanctus 'sacred'.

Five subspecies are recognised: T. s. sanctus (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Komodo National Park

Collared Kingfisher
LC

Collared Kingfisher

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Todiramphus chloris

Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely
Small Blue Kingfisher
LC Endemic

Small Blue Kingfisher

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Alcedo coerulescens

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
White-rumped Kingfisher
LC Endemic

White-rumped Kingfisher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Caridonax fulgidus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Stork-billed Kingfisher
LC

Stork-billed Kingfisher

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Pelargopsis capensis

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Common Kingfisher
LC

Common Kingfisher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Alcedo atthis

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
LC

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Merops philippinus

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
Rainbow Bee-eater
LC

Rainbow Bee-eater

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Merops ornatus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
2 Egmont National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~30%
3 Raja Ampat 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
4 Abel Tasman National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~30%
5 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
6 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
7 Tongariro National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~20%
8 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
9 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
10 Grampians National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
11 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
12 Cape Range 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
13 Rakiura National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~10%
14 Ningaloo Marine Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
15 Flinders Ranges National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
16 Fiordland National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~10%
17 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
18 Litchfield National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
19 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
20 Booderee National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
21 Noosa National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
22 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
23 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
24 Tangkoko Nature Reserve 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
25 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
26 Arthur's Pass National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
<5%
27 Aoraki Mount Cook National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Insufficient data
28 Wilsons Promontory National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Sacred Kingfisher in Komodo National Park?

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sacred Kingfisher sighting in Komodo National Park, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Sacred Kingfisher in Komodo National Park?

April has the highest sighting rate for Sacred Kingfisher in Komodo National Park in our monthly data.

← Back to Komodo National Park