The mewing kingfisher or Mangaia kingfisher (''Todiramphus ruficollaris''), known locally as the tanga‘eo, is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the Alcedinidae, or kingfisher family. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Mangaia Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means ''terraced'') is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily popula ...

in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s and

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

Description

The mewing kingfisher is 22 cm in length, with a large head and large black bill. Similar to some other ''Todiramphus'' kingfishers, it has blue-green upper-parts, with a yellow-orange collar and head-band, and a blue-green cap. The under-parts are white.

Conservation

It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and by disturbance by introduced common mynas at its nesting hollows. The

Taporoporo'anga Ipukarea Society The Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) is an environmental non-government organisation based in the Cook Islands of Polynesia in the south-western Pacific Ocean. The original name was Taporoporo'anga Ipukarea Society, but was shortened a number of years ag ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

's partner organisation in the Cook Islands, has proposed a program to eradicate the mynas from Mangaia.

References

Cook Islands Biodiversity: Mangaia Kingfisher.
Accessed 13 May 2009.

External links

mewing kingfisher Birds of Mangaia mewing kingfisher Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{CookIslands-stub