Mewing kingfisher
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| Mewing kingfisher | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Alcedinidae |
| Subfamily: | Halcyoninae |
| Genus: | Todiramphus |
| Species: | T. ruficollaris |
| Binomial name | |
| Todiramphus ruficollaris (Holyoak, 1974) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Description
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
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
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]
