Sulawesi and Halmahera are only about 300 kilometers apart, but that distance is enough to give birders a completely different set of kingfisher species.
For example, while Tangkoko on Sulawesi has beaches, it does not have the Beach Kingfisher that can be found on Halmahera. Apparently, it is closely related to the Collared Kingfisher common on Sulawesi, but it is much larger.
If the scientific name Todiramphus saurophagus makes you think of Jurassic Park and dinosaurs, you are not completely wrong – saurophagus means “lizard-eating”.
The Blue-and-white Kingfisher is probably the easiest kingfisher to see on Halmahera.
I was wondering about its scientific name Todiramphus diops (“two-eyed” – not something that is likely to distinguish the species from others) until I looked a bit closer at the photos and particularly the white spots above the beak.
The female has a broad blue breastband but no white collar …
… while the male has a white collar but no breastband.
For some reason, the people who gave common names to exotic birds frequently added the word “Paradise” to the name whenever a species featured a long tail. The Paradise Flycatchers are one example, the Common Paradise Kingfisher is another.
The scientific name Tanysiptera galatea has a descriptive part in the genus (tanusipteros means long-feathered) …
… and a mythological one. Galatea was a sea nymph beloved of Polyphemus. Unfortunately, she disliked him, maybe because he only had one eye – Greek mythology is not strong in antidiscrimination. Instead, she loved Acis, which enraged Polyphemus so much that he killed Acis. Galatea reacted by turning Acis into the god of a stream, the river Acis.
Statues of Galatea often show her with one raised hand holding a billowing scarf (source) – maybe an equivalent to the tail of the kingfisher?
Most likely, the birds shown here are the subspecies Tanysiptera galatea browning (the ever-disinterested Cornell/HBW mentions this subspecies but fails to provide an illustration or any description of it, so I can only guess based on the location).
This subspecies is named after Dr. Marvin Ralph Browning (b. 1944), a US ornithologist who just published a book in February 2024 – it describes a year-long birding trip started in 1962 as a high-school graduate but that had to be paused after the car used on the trip broke down, 9 months into the journey. After a career in ornithology, the author completed the trip’s last leg in 2005. Sounds kind of interesting, though I have to admit that I have not read the book.
What can be said is that as it took 43 years to complete the trip, the time from the end of the trip to the publication of the book – just 19 years – is comparatively short.
Cornell does not explain the common name of the Sacred Kingfisher. So, I asked somebody with more ornithological expertise: ChatGPT.
“The Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus) is called ‘Sacred’ because of its significance in various Polynesian cultures. In these cultures, the bird was often revered and considered to have special powers or connections to the divine. For instance, in Maori culture in New Zealand, the bird, known as Kotare, was considered sacred, often associated with clear vision, calmness, and being a guardian of the waterways. In many Pacific Island cultures, the Sacred Kingfisher was also thought to possess the ability to control the seas and weather, which is critical for seafaring communities. This reverence and the symbolic importance of the bird in spiritual and cultural traditions likely led to its name ‘Sacred’ in English.”
Unfortunately, this status does not deter some humans from harming the bird: “Sometimes shot by humans for its attacks on bees, fish, poultry or cagebirds, or belief that it damages fruit in orchards” (Cornell/HBW).
If you think that the common name of the Sombre Kingfisher is a bit of a downer, better ignore the scientific name altogether – Todiramphus funebris indicates that it is a funeral kingfisher.
It is a Halmahera endemic.
As frequently, there is some disagreement over the size of the species – is it a “large forest kingfisher” (eBird) or a “medium-sized kingfisher” (Cornell)?
I am cheating a bit in including the Moluccan Dwarf Kingfisher in this post – I only saw it on Ternate, not Halmahera, but Cornell confirms that it is the same subspecies.
While these are not the greatest of photos, they are good enough to indicate that the scientific name Ceyx lepidus (lepidus means charming) is justified.
This species was previously named Variable Dwarf Kingfisher and had 15 recognized subspecies but was split after a study found major differences among them, resulting in 12 subspecies being promoted to full species (source). Of course, I immediately congratulated, using a prefabricated congratulation found online: “Cheers to your well-deserved promotion! Your hard work and perseverance have truly paid off. Wishing you all the best in this exciting new chapter of your career.”
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