Society kingfisher | |
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illustration by John Gerrard Keulemans | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Coraciiformes |
Family: | Alcedinidae |
Subfamily: | Halcyoninae |
Genus: | Todiramphus |
Species: | T. veneratus |
Binomial name | |
Todiramphus veneratus (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | |
The Society kingfisher or Tahiti kingfisher (Todiramphus veneratus) is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is endemic to the Society Islands of French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
The Society kingfisher was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae . He placed it with the other kingfishers in the genus Alcedo and coined the binomial name Alcedo venerata. [2] Gmelin based his description on the "venerated kingsfisher" that had been described in 1782 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham had access to a specimen in the Leverian Museum which he erroneously believed had come from the "Friendly Islands", now Tonga in western Polynesia. Latham noted that the Polynesians revered and protected kingfishers. [3] The specimen would have been collected during either James Cook's second or third voyages to the Pacific Ocean. [4] Three water-colour drawings survive from Cook's voyages that are believed to depict the Society kingfisher: one by the naturalist Georg Forster painted on Cook's second voyage, one by William Wade Ellis painted on Cook's third voyage and one by the artist John Webber that was also painted on the third voyage. [4] [5]
The Society kingfisher is now one of 30 species placed in the genus Todiramphus that was introduced in 1827 by René Lesson. [6] [7] The word Todiramphus combines the genus name Todus with the Ancient Greek rhamphos meaning "bill". The specific epithet veneratus is Latin meaning "venerated". [8]
Two subspecies are recognised: [7]
The Society kingfisher is around 21 cm (8.3 in) in overall length. The male of the nominate subspecies on Tahiti has dull olive upperparts with a brownish blue-green head and an aquamarine area behind the eye and on the ear coverts. The underparts are white with a variable broad rusty chest-band. The female on Tahiti is dusky brown above and has a prominent brown breast-band. The male of T. v. youngi on Moorea is pale brown above. [9]
The Moorea Sandpiper is an extinct member of the large wader family Scolopacidae that was endemic to Mo'orea in French Polynesia, where the locals called it te-te in the Tahitian language.
The Pacific swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in tropical southern Asia and the islands of the south Pacific. It is resident apart from some local seasonal movements. This bird is associated with coasts, but is increasingly spreading to forested uplands. The hill swallow and the welcome swallow were formerly considered conspecific.
The bristle-thighed curlew is a medium-sized shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters on tropical Pacific islands.
The Tahiti Sandpiper or Tahitian Sandpiper is an extinct member of the large wader family Scolopacidae that was endemic to Tahiti in French Polynesia until its extinction sometime before 1819.
The sacred kingfisher 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.
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The striated starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is endemic to New Caledonia.
The Polynesian starling is a species of starling of the family Sturnidae. It is found in the Samoan Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, the Santa Cruz Islands and Wallis and Futuna. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and tropical moist forests. Various subspecies exist throughout this wide range, some darker in coloration and some lighter. Its call is a raspy buzz or rattle. Diet is fruit and insects.
The Pacific imperial pigeon, Pacific pigeon, Pacific fruit pigeon or lupe is a widespread pigeon species in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, the smaller islands of eastern Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, the smaller satellite islands of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Islands.
The Polynesian ground dove or Society Islands ground dove or Tutururu is a critically endangered species of bird in the family Columbidae. Originally endemic to the Society Islands and Tuamotus in French Polynesia, it has now been extirpated from most of its former range by habitat loss and predation by introduced species such as cats and rats, and the species is now endemic only in the Acteon islands. The total population is estimated to be around 100-120 birds.
The grey-green fruit dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Society Islands in French Polynesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Alcedo is a genus of birds in the kingfisher subfamily Alcedininae. The genus was introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. The type species is the common kingfisher. Alcedo is the Latin for "kingfisher".
The chattering kingfisher is a species of bird in the kingfisher family Alcedinidae. The species is found in the Cook Islands and the Society Islands in French Polynesia.
The south Melanesian cuckooshrike is an uncommon species of bird in the cuckooshrike family. It is found in New Caledonia, Bougainville Island, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The species is a large (32–37 cm) cuckoo-shrike with a long square tail and all over dark grey plumage. The eye of adults is yellow, whereas that of the juvenile is dark. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The Polynesian wattled honeyeater or the eastern wattled honeyeater, is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It was considered conspecific with the Fiji wattled honeyeater and the kikau.
The cardinal myzomela is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is named for the scarlet color of the male. It is found in American Samoa, New Caledonia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest. It frequents areas with flowers, such as gardens. This is a small, active bird, measuring about 13 cm (5.1 in) from bill to tail. Males are red and black in coloration, females are grayish-olive, sometimes with a red cap or red head. Its long, curved bill is especially adapted for reaching into flowers for nectar.
The Christmas sandpiper or Kiritimati sandpiper was a small shorebird. It became extinct some time in the first half of the 19th century. It was endemic to Christmas Island, since 1919 part of Kiribati. It is known solely from a single contemporaneous illustration, and a description by William Anderson, both made during the third circumnavigation voyage commanded by Captain James Cook, which visited the atoll of Christmas Island between 24 December 1777 and 2 January 1778.
The Pacific kingfisher is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It has a wide range throughout the South Pacific islands. It was previously considered a subspecies of the collared kingfisher.