The cinnamon-banded kingfisher is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is found in Indonesia and East Timor. It is endemic to the Lesser Sundas. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Region
Lesser Sunda Islands
Typical Environment
Occurs on several islands including Flores, Sumba, Timor, Rote, and nearby islets. It inhabits subtropical and tropical dry forests, monsoon woodland, and forest edges, sometimes using secondary growth if large trees remain. Birds hunt from shaded perches within the midstory and along clearings, stream margins, and plantation edges. It tolerates some habitat degradation but declines where dry forest is extensively cleared.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Despite its name, this kingfisher is more a woodland hunter than a fisher, typically taking insects and small lizards from perches inside dry forest. It is confined to the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia and Timor-Leste. The species often nests in arboreal termite mounds or tree cavities and is sensitive to the clearing of monsoon and dry forests.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between perches
Social Behavior
Typically encountered alone or in pairs, defending territories within suitable woodland. Breeding often coincides with the onset of rains; nests are placed in arboreal termite mounds or natural cavities, with both sexes participating in excavation and incubation. Clutches are small, and pairs may reuse favored sites in successive seasons.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives clear, ringing whistles delivered in short series from exposed perches at dawn and dusk. Also utters harsher scolding calls when disturbed. The song carries well through open dry forest.
Plumage
Bright blue to blue‑green upperparts with a darker blue crown, contrasting white throat and collar, and a rich cinnamon band across the upper breast; underparts below the band are buff to whitish. A dark eye-stripe runs through the eye, and wings and tail show turquoise-blue tones. The bill is heavy and blackish with a paler base.
Diet
Primarily takes large insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, and mantises, along with spiders and other arthropods. It also captures small lizards and occasionally small frogs or other invertebrates. Prey is spotted from a perch and seized in short sallies to the ground, trunks, or low foliage before being beaten and swallowed.
Preferred Environment
Hunts along forest edges, clearings, and shaded midstory perches within dry monsoon woodland. Frequently uses lookout branches near streams, tracks, or gaps where prey activity is concentrated.
