Guadalcanal moustached kingfisher

The Guadalcanal moustached kingfisher (Actenoides bougainvillei excelsus) is a kingfisher in the subfamily Halcyoninae that is endemic to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. The bird can be found in closed-canopy forests at elevations of 900–1,100 m (3,000–3,600 ft), and is reported to nest in holes in the ground. It is considered a subspecies of the moustached kingfisher (Actenoides bougainvillei) by the International Ornithologists' Union[2] but some taxonomists elevate the taxon to species status.[3][4]

Guadalcanal moustached kingfisher
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Subfamily: Halcyoninae
Genus: Actenoides
Species:
A. bougainvillei
Subspecies:
A. b. excelsus
Trinomial name
Actenoides bougainvillei excelsus
(Mayr, 1941)

The Guadalcanal moustached kingfisher is named for a stripe of blue feathers from the beak to the side of the head. Males have a blue back, females have a greenish back. Prior to 2015, the species had only been recorded twice, a single female in the 1920s and two females in 1953; no males had ever been recorded and no live specimens had been photographed. In 2015 a male bird was captured and photographed for the first time in the forests of Guadalcanal.[5][6][7] The bird was then killed for scientific study to obtain a set of molecular and morphological data. The killing was criticized as not necessary for science. The researcher who photographed and killed the bird estimated there are over 4000 living birds, the bird is not rare, and killing one did not threaten the population viability.[8][9]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2017). "Actenoides excelsus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22726883A117090813. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22726883A117090813.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 7.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  3. del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N.; Kirwan, G.M. "Guadalcanal Moustached Kingfisher (Actenoides excelsus)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. doi:10.2173/bow.moukin2.01. S2CID 242424978. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  4. "Actenoides bougainvillei excelsus - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
  5. "Field Journal: Finding Ghosts". AMNH. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  6. Platt, John R. "Beautiful "Mustached" Bird, Lost for 60 Years, Photographed for First Time". Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  7. Silby, Emily (29 September 2015). "Moustached Kingfisher Photographed for First Time". Audubon.
  8. C.E. Filardi (7 October 2015). "Why I collected a moustached kingsfisher". Audubon.org. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  9. Marc Bekoff (29 September 2015). ""Ridiculously Gorgeous Rare Bird" Photographed, Caught, and ... Killed by Researcher". Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  • Un científico, bajo presión por matar a un pájaro al que buscó 20 años, El País, Madrid, 18 OCT 2015, 18 OCT 2015.


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