Tanysiptera sylvia
The Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, *Tanysiptera sylvia*, is a stunning arboreal kingfisher renowned for its vibrant plumage and distinctive elongated tail streamers. Measuring 29-35 cm in total length, including its impressive white central tail feathers that can add up to 18 cm, it boasts an iridescent blue back, wings, and head, contrasted by rich buff-orange underparts extending to the breast. A prominent black mask across its eyes and a bright red bill and legs complete its striking a...
Primarily inhabits lowland tropical and subtropical rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, and adjacent dense woodlands. It is found from sea level up to approximately 1000 meters in elevation.
Its diet consists mainly of large insects (e.g., grasshoppers, beetles, stick insects), spiders, earthworms, and occasionally small frogs or lizards. It primarily forages by sallying from a perch to snatch prey from the ground or foliage.
Diurnal and generally solitary outside the breeding season, the Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher typically roosts in dense foliage or tree hollows. It employs a "perch-and-sally" foraging strategy, darting from a lookout perch to snatch prey from the ground or vegetation, and also gleans insects...
The Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher is an obligate intra-tropical migrant with distinct breeding and wintering grounds. Its primary breeding range is confined to north-eastern Australia, specifically the coastal wet tropical regions of Queensland, extending from the Cape York Peninsula southwar...
Least Concern
- Its exceptionally long, white tail streamers can grow up to 18 cm, sometimes longer than the bird's body, and are thought to play a role in courtship displays. - Unlike many kingfishers that hunt fish, the Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher is largely insectivorous and hunts on land, earning it ...