NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Blue-winged Kookaburra
Dacelo leachii Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The blue-winged kookaburra (Dacelo leachii) is a large species of kingfisher native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea.
Measuring around 40 cm (16 in), it is slightly smaller than the more familiar laughing kookaburra. It has cream-coloured upper- and underparts barred with brownish markings. It has blue wings and brown shoulders and blue rump. It is sexually dimorphic, with a blue tail in the male, and a rufous tail with blackish bars in the female.
Wikipedia contributors, Blue-winged kookaburra; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:53:17.338924+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dacelo leachii Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
- Name authority
- Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
- Common name
- Blue-winged Kookaburra
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
- Genus
- Dacelo
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCoraciiformes
- familyAlcedinidae
- subfamilyHalcyoninae
- genusDacelo Leach, 1815
- speciesDacelo leachii Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dacelo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Rufous-bellied KookaburraDacelo gaudichaud Gaimard, 1823 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Laughing KookaburraDacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Spangled KookaburraDacelo tyro G. R. Gray, 1858 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554575 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:33SWZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.