Submission No 523: Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis; Christmas Island 7th December 2006.  Submitted by: Liz Crawford, Margaret Cameron, Chris Herbert, Ann Lindsey, Mike Newman, Alan Rogers, John Reidy, Alan Stuart and Bruce Wedderburn

 

 

Verdict: Accepted 

 

 

This submission concerns the sighting of a Common Kingfisher perched on an isolated rock in shallow marine water at the eastern end of Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island on the 7th December 2006.

 

Although field notes were not taken at the time of the observation a description has been provided along with photographs to support the claim. The photographs clearly show a bird with rufous lores, rufous ear coverts, a blue moustachial stripe, white chin, dark eyes, bright pink legs, rufous underparts, blue crown and wing coverts spotted with light blue, and light bright turquoise blue back and upper tail.  The upper mandible appears black, while the lower mandible is distinctly orange-red, which as pointed out in the submission indicates a female (Robson 2000).

 

Members voted unanimously in favour of acceptance agreeing that this bird was most likely an adult female. This record is the 3rd to be accepted from Christmas Island and the first to be photographed in Australia and as with other records most likely involves the migratory race bengalensis, which winters south to the Greater Sundas and Wallacea (Fry & Fry 1992).

 

 

 

References & Bibliography:

 

·         Beaman, M. & Madge, S. (1998). The Handbook of Bird Identification of Europe and the Western Palaearctic, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

·         Coates, B.J. & Bishop, K.D. (1997), A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea, Dove Publications, Brisbane.

·         Fry, C.H. & Fry, K. (1992), Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers: A Handbook, Christopher Helm, London.

·         MacKinnon, J. & Phillips, K. (1994), A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

·         Robson, C. (2000), A Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

 

 

 

Tony Palliser

Chairman Birds Australia Rarities Committee (BARC)