Eukaryota >Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Coraciiformes > Alcedinidae > Todiramphus > Todiramphus macleayii
Found in along the coast between Cairns and Cape Tribulation, you will often spot these fishers, near a river close to the coast.
Forest kingfisher - Todiramphus macleayii - Photo by Alex Pawlow
They will wait on a branch till they spot prey (usually insects, spiders, worms or small frogs and lizards), and then fly down to seize it. If required, they may fly back to a branch and hit the victim against the branch to kill it.
The Forest kingfisher has a blue head and wings with the remainder of the body being an off white. Just behind its bill is a white patch before the blue of its head.
The female has a blue nape, with the male's white.
The breeding season is between October and January, and they will build a nest within a termite nest in a tree.
Also known as the Macleay's, tree or blue kingfisher