Kingfishers
(Family Alcedinidae)
Both the Azure and Little Kingfishers feed on small fish, insects and crustaceans. They are both found in well-vegetated riverine areas, swamps and mangroves. The Azure Kingfisher Ceyx azureus is found in Australia’s north and east (mainland) and in Tasmania, while the Little Kingfisher Ceyx pusillus is confined to the north and north-east. Of the remaining eleven species that have been recorded in Australia, two are endemic, the Red-backed Kingfisher Todiramphus pyrrhopygius and Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae, while six are shared with New Guinea and sometimes other Pacific islands, namely the Yellow-billed Kingfisher Syma torotoro, Forest Kingfisher T. macleayii, Collared Kingfisher T. chloris, Sacred Kingfisher T. sanctus, Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher Tanysiptera sylvia and Blue-winged Kookaburra Dacelo leachii . A further three species are recorded only as vagrants.
