Mewing kingfisher
| Mewing kingfisher | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Alcedinidae |
| Subfamily: | Halcyoninae |
| Genus: | Todiramphus |
| Species: | T. ruficollaris
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| Binomial name | |
| Todiramphus ruficollaris (Holyoak, 1974)
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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The mewing kingfisher or Mangaia kingfisher (Todiramphus ruficollaris), known locally as the tanga‘eo, is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae, or kingfisher family. It is endemic to Mangaia in the Cook Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and plantations.
Description
[edit]The mewing kingfisher is 22 cm (8.7 in) in length, with blue-green forehead and crown; light turquoise ear-coverts; orange-buff superciliary buff, nape, and upper mantle; deep turquoise back, rump, and uppertail-coverts; deep blue tail (underside blackish); entirely white underparts (except for orange-buff across upper chest); mostly black bill and iris; mostly black legs with light yellow soles.[3] The orange-buff suffusion across the upper chest is more pronounced in females.[3]
Similar to many birds on islands with low species richness, the mewing kingfisher has evolved smaller flight muscles and longer legs, giving it an extraordinarily low forelimb-hindlimb index.[4]
Behavior
[edit]The mewing kingfisher feeds upon worms, caterpillars, grubs, termites, grasshoppers, stick insecks, cockroaches, moths, spiders, and lizards, with lizards being especially valued during courtship feeding.[3] Breeding season begins in early October with last fledglings in early February.[3]
Polygamous behavior has been documented in the mewing kingfisher, with polyandrous trios (two males, one female) being more common although polygynous behavior (one male, two females) was also observed.[5]
Its song is heard as a brief series of "tangar-eeoOO," from which its Maori name is derived, also represented as "ki-wow."[2] Other calls of the Mangaia kingfisher include "kek-kek-kek-kek" during contact with a mate or as a territorial call, "scrark" when chasing off intruders, "chucka-chucka" when reestablishing contact with a mate, and "tui-tui" during copulation.[5]
Like its relatives the Marquesan kingfisher, Sombre kingfisher, and Niau kingfisher, the mewing kingfisher makes frequent use of coconut agriculture for its habitat.[6] It has also been observed nesting in Barringtonia asiatica, Albizia, and Hernandia moerenhoutiana.[5]
Conservation
[edit]As the mewing kingfisher is endemic to a single island, it was previously viewed as a vulnerable species.[7] In 2008, the IUCN expressed concerns over human-related habitat loss and disturbance from introduced species such as the common myna[8] In the early 2000s, the Taporoporo'anga Ipukarea Society proposed a program to eradicate the common myna from Mangaia.[9]
However, further study determined that despite its restricted range, the population of the mewing kingfisher remains stable.[10] Thacker et al suggested in 2020 that previous studies might have undercounted the mewing kingfisher and that the common myna does not pose a significant threat to the kingfisher's numbers.[11] They further suggested that the IUCN should not list the species as vulnerable.[11]
As of 2021, the mewing kingfisher is listed as a species of least concern.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ BirdLife International. (2022). "Todiramphus ruficollaris (Mangaia Kingfisher)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T22683465A209393532. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T22683465A209393532.en. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ a b McCormack, Gerald (2007). "Todiramphus ruficollaris". Cook Islands Biodiversity Database. Bishop Museum. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
- ^ a b c d Brewer, David (2018). Birds New to Science: Fifty Years of Avian Discoveries. London: Christopher Helm / Bloomsbury. pp. 116–117. ISBN 978-1-4729-0628-1.
- ^ Wright, Natalie A.; Steadman, David W.; Witt, Christopher C. (April 2016). "Supporting Information Appendix for An avian island rule: evolution toward flightlessness" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113 (17). Fig. S3. doi:10.1073/pnas.1522931113. JSTOR 26469423. PMC 4855539. PMID 27071105.
- ^ a b c Rowe, Stella; Empson, Raewyn (1996). "Observations on the breeding behaviour of theTanga'eo or Mangaia Kingfisher (Halcyon tutaruficollaris)". Notornis. 43 (1). Birds New Zealand: 43–48. doi:10.63172/260423qnowkt.
- ^ Goulombe, Gabrielle L.; Kesler, Dylan C.; Gouni, Anne (April 2011). "Agricultural Coconut Forest as Habitat for the Critically Endangered Tuamotu Kingfisher (Todiramphus Gambieri Gertrudae)". The Auk. 128 (2): 290. doi:10.1525/auk.2011.10191. JSTOR 10.1525/auk.2011.10191.
- ^ Boyer, Alison G. (April 2010). "Consistent Ecological Selectivity through Time in Pacific Island Avian Extinctions". Conservation Biology. 24 (2): 518. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01341.x. JSTOR 40603376. PMID 19843128.
- ^ BirdLife International (2008). "Species factsheet: Todiramphus ruficollaris". BirdLife International. Archived from the original on 4 January 2009.
- ^ Nagle, Bill (2011). "Cook Islands: Maingaia - Common Myna (Acridotheres Tristis)". Cooperative Islands Initiative. Archived from the original on 27 February 2013.
- ^ Shabani, Farzin; Kumar, Lalit; Ahmadi, Mohsen; Esmaeili, Atefeh (September 2017). "Are research efforts on Animalia in the South Pacific associated with the conservation status or population trends?". Journal for Nature Conservation. 39: 26. doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2017.06.004. ISSN 1617-1381.
- ^ a b Thacker, Tom; Seddon, Philip J.; van Heezik, Yolanda; McCormack, Gerald (November 2020). "A myna problem: alien species no obstacle to recovery for the Mangaia kingfisher". Oryx. 56 (1): 44–49. doi:10.1017/S0030605320000071.
- ^ BirdLife International (2022). "Species factsheet: Mangaia Kingfisher Todiramphus ruficollaris". BirdLife Datazone. Archived from the original on 24 June 2025.
