A collaborative bird survey of East Kwaio, Malaita, Solomon Islands
Author
Callaghan, Corey T.
Author
Kekeubata, Esau
Author
Waneagea, Jackson
Author
Alabai, Maasafi
Author
Esau, Tommy
Author
MacLaren, David
Author
Major, Richard E.
text
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2019
2019-12-20
15
6
1119
1136
http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/15.6.1119
journal article
10.15560/15.6.1119
1809-127X
Ceyx malaitae
(Mayr, 1935)
.
Malaita
Dwarf-Kingfisher
This is an endemic species to
Malaita
. This species was frequently caught in mist-nets, but has low detection probability during the day, as we were unable to detect any within the same forests in which they were caught in the mist-nets. However, we did observe one individual roosting ~
8 m
above the ground, and another was observed roosting ~
15 m
above the ground, both in trees.
Identification
:
Table 1
.;
Fig. 4A
.
Voucher registration number(s)
: O.78243 (skin); O.78251 (skin); O.78252 (skin); O.78280 (blood)..
Todiramphus sacer
(J.F. Gmelin, 1788)
. Pacific
Kingfisher
Common at all elevations and in many different habi- tats. Likely belonging to the subspecies
mala
.
Identifica- tion
:
Todiramphus
identification is difficult in the Pacific islands and likely remains a mystery throughout the Solomons and especially on
Malaita
, as
Andersen et al. (2015)
did not sample from
Malaita
when the recent split between
tristrami
and
sacer
was proposed. Based on
Andersen et al. (2015)
, we presumed
sacer
/
tristrami
type
birds were
sacer
and identification was not made with an effort to separate between these two species, but further genetic work could likely help to differentiate the sta- tus of
Todiramphus
on
Malaita
. We separated
sacer
from
sanctus
based on the overall pale coloration underneath, with little brown wash, as well as white ‘headlights’ above the bill compared to the more general brown in
sanctus
. The white extended along the back of the head with a black line separating white lines in some individuals. We note that we may have observed one
sanctus
but could not confirm this identification.
Table 1
.
Todiramphus saurophagus
(Gould, 1843)
. Beach
Kingfisher
Common along the coast, frequently observed along cliffs.
Identification
:
Table 1
.