Marquesan Kingfisher

Todiramphus godeffroyi (Finsch, 1877)

Marquesan Kingfisher, Todiramphus godeffroyi, is a bird of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, with breeding now recorded on Tahuata and formerly on Nuku Hiva, Ua Huku and Hiva Oa. It belongs to the kingfisher family and was described by Finsch in 1877. It is found in tropical moist lowland forest, especially dense, humid growth beside mountain streams and in valleys, and has also been seen in coconut plantations and on dry slopes with mango trees. It nests in mango trees and in hollow, decayed pine trunks. Its diet includes insects and small vertebrates, mainly lizards.

Order

Coraciiformes

Family

Alcedinidae — Kingfishers

Breeding range

Pacific Ocean: Tahuata (and formerly Nuku Hiva, Ua Huku and Hiva Oa; Marquesas Is., ne Polynesia)