Spangled kookaburra
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The spangled kookaburra (Dacelo tyro), also called the Aru giant kingfisher, is a species of kookaburra found in the Aru Islands, Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands of southern New Guinea. Little is known of its family life or breeding biology.
| Spangled kookaburra | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Alcedinidae |
| Subfamily: | Halcyoninae |
| Genus: | Dacelo |
| Species: | D. tyro |
| Binomial name | |
| Dacelo tyro Gray, 1858 | |
| Subspecies[2] | |
| |
Taxonomy
Two subspecies are recognised:[3]
- D. t. tyro – Aru Islands, Indonesia
- D. t. archboldi – New Guinea
Description
The spangled kookaburra grows to 33 cm (13 in) in length, with females growing slightly larger than males.[4] It has bright blue wings and tail, a white chest and belly, dark eyes, and a black head with white spots. The upper mandible is dark grey whilst the lower mandible is white. The species has no sexual dimorphism - males and females look alike.[3]
