The Sulawesi lilac kingfisher (''Cittura cyanotis'') is a species of

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

in the genus ''Cittura'', found in the lowlands of the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

island of

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

and

Lembeh Lembeh is an island off the north east coast of Sulawesi near the city of Bitung. Lembeh Island is 25 km long and 2 km wide. Lembeh Island is separated from the mainland of Sulawesi by a narrow stretch of water known as the Lembeh Stra ...

Taxonomy

The specific epithet ''cyanotis'' is from classical Greek ''kuanos'' for "dark blue" and ''-ōtis" for "eared". The first formal description of the Sulawesi lilac kingfishers were by the Dutch zoologist

Coenraad Jacob Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch people, Dutch Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, Zoology, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dut ...

in 1824 under the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Dacelo cyanotis''.

Description

It has the typical

shape, with a short tail and long bill. The adult male has a brown crown and back and rufous rump and tail. It has a blue eye mask, separated from the crown by a white line, and a pale lilac ruff of long stiffened ear covert feathers. The underparts are white and the wings are blue, separated by a white line from the brown back. The red bill is large and flattened. In flight, the underwings are white with a black "wrist" patch. The call is a rapid ''ku-ku-ku-ku''.

Behaviour

The Sulawesi lilac kingfisher is found in lowland rainforest and drier hill forest up to altitude. It perches motionless on a low branch watching for its prey, mainly large

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s, on the ground below. Little else is known of the behaviour of this species, and no nests have been found.

Status

This species has a restricted range and fragmented distribution, and is uncommon, with no records from south Sulawesi. Lowland

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

has been extensive in recent decades, and the loss of its habitat has led to lilac kingfisher being classed as near-threatened.

Gallery

File:Raja-udang Pipi-ungu.JPG, At Mt. Mahawu (1100 mdpl) File:Lilac Kingfisher.JPG, ''Cittura cyanotis'' at Bintauna, North Bolaang Mongondow File:Sulawesi trsr DSCN0215.JPG, Sulawesi lilac kingfisher in Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Sulawesi

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21000869 Cittura Birds described in 1824 Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck