The blue-black kingfisher is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. A medium-sized kingfisher of mangroves and forested streams in the lowlands. It is found in New Guinea and offshore islands of Salawati, Batanta and Yapen. It is considered rare and declining with threats being logging of lowland swamp forests and declining water quality.
Region
New Guinea and nearby offshore islands (Salawati, Batanta, Yapen)
Typical Environment
Occupies lowland mangrove creeks, nipa swamps, and slow, shaded forest streams around New Guinea and adjacent islands. Prefers quiet backwaters with overhanging vegetation and tangled root systems. It avoids open shores and fast, exposed rivers. Occurrence is patchy, with birds typically found in undisturbed swamp-forest mosaics.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A scarce and elusive kingfisher of New Guinea’s lowland mangroves and shaded forest streams, it often goes undetected unless it calls. It is sensitive to habitat disturbance, especially logging of swamp-forest and degradation of water quality. Pairs or solitary birds keep to quiet, dark channels where they hunt from low perches.
Temperament
solitary and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats over water, strong but low flight between perches
Social Behavior
Usually encountered singly or in pairs along quiet streams and channels. Defends linear stretches of water as territory. Nests are believed to be placed in tree cavities or arboreal termite mounds within swamp-forest.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives high, piping whistles and thin, penetrating calls from shaded perches. Vocalizations carry through mangroves and are often the first sign of its presence.
Plumage
Glossy deep blue to blackish upperparts with a contrasting pale throat and underparts; compact, heavy-billed kingfisher silhouette.
Diet
Takes small fish, crustaceans such as crabs and shrimps, aquatic insects, and occasionally amphibians. Hunts by waiting on low, shaded perches and making short dives or sallies to the water surface. Also snatches prey from exposed roots and mud banks at low tide.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along narrow, overhung channels, mangrove creeks, and backwaters with clear, slow-moving water. Often selects areas with dense vegetation and abundant submerged roots that harbor prey.
