Marine Wildlife Encyclopedia
Collared Kingfisher Todirhamphus chloris
Also known as the mangrove kingfisher, the collared kingfisher lives in a variety of habitats, although in Australia it is restricted to the coast. Greenish blue above, with a white belly and collar, it has a black eye-stripe and a sharply pointed bill. On coasts, the collared kingfisher hunts crabs as well as fish and, like all kingfishers except the pied, beats its prey against a perch before swallowing it. It often nests in hollows in mangrove trees, and lays three or four eggs. In the far south of its range, the collared kingfisher is a summer visitor only.
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- Order Coraciiformes
- Length 11 in (28 cm)
- Weight 4 oz (120 g)
- Habitat Forests, coasts, beaches, mangrove swamps, estuaries
- Distribution Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, Australasia
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