Halcyon smyrnensis
white-throated kingfisher

White-throated kingfishers range from Turkey in the west to the Philippines in the east, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. (Anderton and Rassmussen, 2005; International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 2006)

White-throated kingfishers are common in agricultural areas, swamps, marshes, near ponds, lakes, in parklands and in mangrove swamps. In India they seem to be less reliant on particular aquatic habitats than other kingfishers and can be found in dry decidious forests in addition to rice paddies, oil palm plantations, drainage ditches, gardens, fishponds and even beaches. Though they feed on fish, white-throated kingfishers are not deep divers and do not spend significant amounts of time underwater. (Ali and Ripley, 1983; Anderton and Rassmussen, 2005)

White-throated kingfishers have thick, reddish-orange bills, red legs, and dark chocolate-colored heads, bellies, and shoulders. A brilliant white patch can be found on the throat and sometimes the breast. The wings and tail are bright blue with white patches on the primaries and black distal tips. The sexes appear similar. Juvenile birds are generally less brilliantly-colored with duskier bills and less brown on the wings. Young individuals may also sport a shoulder mark with extensive blue edging. White-throated kingfishers are the only South Asian kingfisher that is distinctly darker below than it is above. Adult birds weigh 65.5 to 81 grams. Basal metabolic rate has not been recorded. (Ali and Ripley, 1983; Anderton and Rassmussen, 2005; Wells, 1999)

There are several recognized subspecies.

Halcyon smyrnensis smyrnensis, one of the two larger subspecies, ranges from the Gulf of Khambhat in India west to Saudi Arabia. This subspecies is bright blue-green above and has pale brown underparts.

Halcyon smyrnensis fusca is a resident in the whole of India and ranges upward into parts of Nepal and Sikkim. This subspecies also has a bright blue-green back, but its belly is more darkly chocolate-colored and it is smaller than H. smyrnensis smyrnensis.

Halcyon smyrnensis perpulchra is found in east Pakistan northern India, Bangladesh, Myannmar, Thailand, Malaysia, southeast China and Taiwan. This subspecies is on the smaller side and is more purplish-blue above than the previous two supspecies.

Halcyon smyrnensis saturatior is found on the Andaman Islands. This subspecies is also purplish-blue, but it is larger than H. smyrnensis perpulchra and it also bears a darker brown belly. (Ali and Ripley, 1983; Anderton and Rassmussen, 2005; Wells, 1999)

White-throated kingfisher average lifespan in or out of captivity is not recorded. Few white-throated kingfishers have been banded, but the longest interval between intitial banding and recapture is 5 years and six months. (Wells, 1999)

White-throated kingfishers live solitarily or in pairs during the breeding season. Each bird or pair of birds will establish a feeding territory and, for the most part, remain within that territory. There may be some seasonal movements, but there is a lack of clear data on the subject other than the fact that some Mediterranean populations winter on the isle of Cyprus. Each bird or pair usually stays very near to its permanent territory, however some portion of the population must wander as the birds have reached remote islands in the Indian Ocean and have been found on offshore oil rigs. (Ali and Ripley, 1983; BirdGuides, 1999; International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 2006; Wells, 1999)

Home Range

White-throated kingfishers live alone or in pairs. In zones of greatest density birds may be separated by only 100 meters. (Ali and Ripley, 1983; Wells, 1999)

White-throated Kingfishers are very vocal birds, their vocalizations being characterized as "a loud defiant rattling laugh." Breeding males are the most noted for their calls.. They have several calls which include a sharp repetition of high pitched KRICH-KRICH tones of 2-4 kHz at a rate of 2-4 notes per second. The particular song of the White-throated Kingfisher is a very loud descening trill (2-3 kHz), composed of speparate notes (10-11 per second), which trail off in pitch and volume.

During the mating season male White-throated Kingfishers accompany their nearling constant singing with a repeated brief display of the their white wing patches to intimidate potential rivals. While perched atop a tree, fencepost, or other visible station, the male will let out his distinctive call, then flap his wings swiftly several times parallel to the horizon.

The female White-throated Kingfisher also employs her wings for signalling during the breeding months. To signal that she is receptive, the female kingfisher approaches the male, partially opens her wings and performs a shivering motion while letting out a repetitive clicking call. (Ali and Ripley, 1983; Anderton and Rassmussen, 2005)

White-throated kingfishers are carnivorous generalists that eat many organisms, including locusts, crickets, beetles, mantises, ants, termites, dragonflies, grasshoppers, Ocypode and Paratelphusa crabs , scorpions, centipedes, Mabuya and Calotes lizards, mice, frogs, small perching birds, and fish. Individuals hunt by flying forth from an observation post over clear ground or water to seize prey. Prey is often seized off the ground and then flown to the perch, where it is bludgeoned or stabbed before being swallowed. (Ali and Ripley, 1983)

Specific predators of white-throated kingfishers have not been reported. It seems reasonable to assume that white-throated kingfishers are subject to predation by large birds of prey, and probably snakes and rodents while they are nesting.

White-throated kingfishers are medium-sized generalist predators that feed on a wide variety of small creatures and help to keep various populations in check. The literature does not list specific parasites of Halcyon smyrnensis, or other organisms that have special mutualistic relationships with this species. It seems possible that white-throated kingfishers are subject to parasitism by protists of the genus Plasmodium and it is almost certain that Haemoproteus halcyonis (a blood parasite of other Halcyon species) uses white-throated kingfishers as hosts. (Ali and Ripley, 1983)

White-throated kingfishers can often be found around fish drying racks and may become a nuisance at ornamental fish ponds and commercial hatcheries. Though they also contribute to controlling agricultural pests, they can be considered aquaculture pests. (Ali and Ripley, 1983)

White-throated kingfishers eat domestic and agricultural pests, including both mammalian and insect pests. Like many other generalists, these birds help control the populations of small vertebrates and invertebrates that might otherwise do costly damage to human works and food supplies. (Ali and Ripley, 1983)

White-throated kingfishers are listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. Their large range and abundance in common habitats suggests they are not at current conservation risk. (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 2006)