Most birdwatchers, and many non-birdwatchers are familiar with the Belted Kingfisher. It’s essentially the only kingfisher we have in the US and Canada. Although a couple other species – Ringed Kingfisher and Green Kingfisher – are found around the US-Mexico border, there are only 6 species of kingfisher found in all of the Americas. On the other hand, over 50 species of kingfisher are regularly found in Indonesia. A few are migrants, but most of them are residents.
Why are there so many species there? First because of islands. Islands tend to isolate populations, which allows them to evolve into endemic species. Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands, and many of those islands have their own species or multiple species of kingfisher.
Second, Indonesia straddles something known as Wallace’s Line, named after the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.
During the ice age, the sea levels were lower and many of the islands were joined together by land bridges. Animals easily crossed those land bridges. But the channel between Borneo and Sulawesi (shown as Celebes in the map above) was so deep, that it stayed open water and most species couldn’t cross. Because of that, the populations never had a chance to mix. This means that on the west side of the line the species are Asian, and on the east side of the line the species are more Australian.
On my recent trip to Indonesia, I birded on four different islands: Sulawesi, Halmahera, Bali, and Java. Sulawesi is on the east side of Wallace’s Line. It’s so big that it has many of its own endemic species. Halmahera is even further east in the Northern Moluccas, making the wildlife even more Australasian. It has a few endemic species, but many of its species are shared with nearby New Guinea. However, Java and Bali are on the west side of Wallace’s Line, so their wildlife is like the rest of Asia, but again, being islands, there are some unique species, too. Many of those are shared only between the two islands
One other thing that separates the New World kingfishers from the Indonesian kingfishers: American kingfishers are almost always found around water. They eat mostly fish and crayfish. Many of the Indonesian kingfishers are forest birds. Instead of fish, they tend to eat small lizards and insects.
With that background, I’d like to share some pictures and info on the 13 species of kingfishers I saw in Indonesia. Several of them are endemic to Indonesia and all but 3 were lifers for me. Most of the pictures are mine, but a couple are courtesy of Steve Harford, another birder on the tour. And of course, I welcome everyone to share any kingfisher pictures of their own or stories in the comments.
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We started the tour on the island of Sulawesi:
The first of the Indonesian kingfishers we saw was Collared Kingfisher:
This is a widespread Asian species found from India through New Guinea (with even a couple isolated subspecies on the Arabian Peninsula). I’ve seen them in several countries. It’s about 10” (25 cm) tall and is usually found in coastal areas, but for some reason in Sulawesi it’s also found inland. This particular bird was at Karaenta Forest near Makassar on the southwest peninsula of Sulawesi, but we saw them in several places in Sulawesi. They were also extremely common on Bali and in West Java, but we didn’t see them on Halmahera, since we didn’t spend much time in the right habitat
The next species we saw was the Green-backed Kingfisher:
This species is endemic to Sulawesi, although there are two subspecies – a black-headed subspecies found in southwest Sulawesi and a blue-headed subspecies found in the northern part of the island. Both are about 12½” (32 cm) tall. We heard the black-headed subspecies at Karaenta Forest, but saw the blue-headed subspecies above at our hotel near Tangkoko National Park on the far northeastern tip of the island. It was 6 AM and still dark, so we had to spotlight it. This was the best picture I got before it flew off.
That same morning in Tangkoko National Park we saw Sulawesi Lilac Kingfisher:
This is probably my favorite kingfisher from the trip because its colors are so unique. It’s a medium sized (11” / 28 cm) forest kingfisher found in the lowlands of Sulawesi. As suggested by the name, it’s endemic to that island, and is mainly found on the Minahasa Peninsula (that long northern peninsula of Sulawesi).
Later that same day, we took a boat ride in the Molucca Sea offshore from the eastern tip of the Minahasa Peninsula. The main target of that trip was Great-billed Kingfisher:
You can certainly see why it’s called that! This species, also known as the Black-billed Kingfisher, is endemic to Sulawesi and some nearby smaller islands. It’s one of the largest kingfishers in the world at almost 14” tall (35 cm). They prefer to hang out in coastal mangroves. Most of the records in eBird for this species are from the exact same area as we saw it.
On that same boat trip we also saw a Sacred Kingfisher:
This species is about 8½” (22 cm) tall. It breeds in Australia and other islands in Oceania and winters in Indonesia and New Guinea during the austral winter. I tried getting a picture of the bird in Indonesia, but getting a decent picture of a small, distant bird from a boat on the ocean? Let’s just say I was less than happy with the results. So this picture is actually from Australia.
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Next up, we crossed Weber’s Line to the island of Halmahera.
We flew from Sulawesi to the island of Ternate, then we took a “speedboat” from Ternate to Halmahera:
This brought a whole new set of Australasian kingfishers. The first one we saw was Beach Kingfisher:
Beach Kingfisher is found throughout Australasia – from Halmahera through New Guinea and all the way to the Solomon Islands. It’s strictly a coastal species. Our guide saw this bird on some driftwood as our speedboat neared Sofifi harbor on Halmahera, but he was the only one who saw it! Fortunately, when we got to the dock, it had moved closer and we all saw it. Whew!
The following day we were birding in the forests of northeastern Halmahera and saw a Common Paradise-kingfisher:
The name paradise-kingfisher is a reference to the long tail plumes, like the plumes on a bird-of-paradise. It’s 17” (43 cm) long, but 2/3 of that length is the tail. This is another forest kingfisher that’s found throughout the Moluccas and New Guinea. We saw it along an old logging track on the north shore of Halmahera near a town called Foli. This was the only picture anybody on the tour got of this bird. I didn’t even try — I just wanted to see it.
On that same track, we also saw a Sombre Kingfisher:
This is a forest kingfisher that’s only found on Halmahera. It’s about 11” (28 cm) long. It gets its name because unlike most Asian kingfishers which are blue or green (or both), this species is dark brown. The drab color is also reflected in the scientific name: Todiramphus funebris.
The last kingfisher we saw on Halmahera was the Blue-and-White Kingfisher:
This is a smaller species – only about 7½“ (19 cm). It’s another forest kingfisher and is only found on the islands of the Northern Moluccas. We saw this guy on the only road that crosses the northeast peninsula of Halmahera at a place called Mount Uni-uni. We were actually scanning the forest for hornbills, when I found him. He was faaaaar away!
Next stop…back to Sulawesi. One of the harder to find species is Scaly-breasted Kingfisher:
This is another Sulawesi endemic found in montane forests on the island. It’s about 9” (24 cm) long. Their population is decreasing due to habitat loss, but they’re not considered threatened (yet). We found this guy on Mount Mahawu near Manado on the northeast shore of Sulawesi. Our local guide knew where the territories were on the mountain, otherwise, we’d have never found it. In fact, the guide was checking the last possible territory. I was so convinced that it wouldn’t be there that I didn’t bother hiking into the forest for it. Fortunately, it was right near the road, and the guide came back to get me. Even so, I almost missed it.
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After that, we headed west across Wallace’s Line to Bali. We did most of our birding in the northwest of the island:
The first new species we saw there was the Small Blue Kingfisher:
I prefer its alternate name, Cerulean Kingfisher. This species is endemic to Indonesia, found on Bali, Java, Sumatra, and a few other islands. It’s only about 5” (13 cm) long. Although we first saw a couple of this species in Bali Barat National Park in northwest Bali, this picture is from a nature park outside Jakarta on Java.
Bali also gave us one of the prettier kingfishers of the trip, Javan Kingfisher:
It’s another Indonesian endemic. They’re about 10” (25 cm) long and are found in freshwater habitats on Java and Bali, but generally in non-forested areas. This guy was actually coming to a feeding station in the rice paddies in northwest Bali. Our guide set out some live crickets (collected by the farmer) in a platform feeder, and several kingfishers actually came in to feed. We were sitting in a hide, happily snapping away.
The last kingfisher of the trip was the Rufous-backed Dwarf-kingfisher:
This little guy was the smallest of the trip at just under 5” (13 cm) long. We saw it a feeder station in northwest Bali. The guides were putting out mealworms in order to attract Javan Banded Pitta, and this guy took advantage of the free meal. Most authorities combine this species with the Black-backed Dwarf-kingfisher as Oriental Dwarf-kingfisher, but for some reason Cornell/Clements splits it into two species. I’ve seen the Rufous-backed before in the Philippines, but have never seen Black-backed.
That’s it for the kingfishers I saw, but there was also a “heard only” kingfisher on the trip. I heard Banded Kingfisher in West Java, but unfortunately it didn’t want to come into view. That would also have been a lifer for me. I heard it in Thailand a few years back, too, but it wouldn’t play there either. So that’s one for a future trip.
At this point, everyone is welcome to join in with what’s happening in your area. And as I said above, feel free to post kingfisher pictures, too.