Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris 白領翡翠
Category I. Accidental.
IDENTIFICATION
Feb. 2005, Michelle and Peter Wong. Adult.
23-25 cm. Somewhat smaller than White-throated Kingfisher with an obviously less massive bill that is black above and pale below. Turquoise cap and upperparts are separated by a broad white collar. Underparts are white and there is a white patch above the dark lores.
VOCALISATIONS
The vocalisations are as loud and distinctive as they are sudden and unannounced. Whether single vagrants in HK might call in the same manner is uncertain however.
Repeated ‘kyow’ notes are commonly heard, as well as harsher calls.
The following pairs of notes, one higher-pitched than the other, are also frequently heard.
DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT PREFERENCE
Has occurred in a variety of habitats from mangrove areas at Mai Po and Tai O to the reservoir at Plover Cove and a park at the edge of an urban area alongside Shing Mun River.
OCCURRENCE
1990: one in the mangroves at Mai Po on 7 October 1990 (Edge 1991)
2004: one at Plover Cove Reservoir on 23rd and 25 April.
2005: singles at Tai O on 26 February and Mai Po NR on 10 September and 2 October.
2019: a first-year in Sha Tin Park during 27-28 August.
BEHAVIOUR, FORAGING & DIET
Elusive and difficult to see well.
RANGE & SYSTEMATICS
Widespread from the Arabian peninsula and south Asia through Malaysia to the Lesser Sundas and east to Indochina and south China (Woodall 2020). In China occurs has been recorded at scattered localities in southeast China and Taiwan (Liu and Chen 2020). Polytypic, with the subspecies relevant to HK being T. c. armstrongi, which occurs in Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina and south China.
CONSERVATION STATUS
IUCN: Least Concern. Population trend stable.
Edge, J. R. S. (1991). Collared Kingfisher at Mai Po. A new species for Hong Kong. Hong Kong Bird Report 1990: 103-104.
Liu, Y. and Y. H. Chen (eds) (2020). The CNG Field Guide to the Birds of China (in Chinese). Hunan Science and Technology Publication House, Changsha.
Woodall, P. F. (2020). Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.colkin1.01
