NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Vanuatu Kingfisher
Todiramphus farquhari (Sharpe, 1899)
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 Vanuatu kingfisher or chestnut-bellied kingfisher (Todiramphus farquhari) is a medium-sized kingfisher found only on the islands of Espiritu Santo, Malo and Malakula in Vanuatu. It is dark blue above with richly coloured orange underparts. There is a white spot in front of the eye and a broad black band on the side of the head. It has a white throat and collar. It measures 19–21 cm (7.5–8.3 in) in length and weighs 32–42 grams (1.1–1.5 oz). Its call is a series of loud, shrill, piping notes. The only other kingfisher in Vanuatu is the Pacific kingfisher, which has paler blue-green upperparts, whiter underparts and a buff stripe above the eye. The Vanuatu kingfisher mainly eats insects, especially beetles, and will also take spiders and small lizards. It usually hunts by perching on a branch and waiting for prey to appear. When it spots something it flies into the air or dives down to the ground or a tree trunk to catch it.
Wikipedia contributors, Vanuatu kingfisher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:15:56.420347+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Todiramphus farquhari (Sharpe, 1899)
- Name authority
- (Sharpe, 1899)
- Common name
- Vanuatu Kingfisher
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
- Genus
- Todiramphus
- 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
- genusTodiramphus R. Lesson, 1827
- speciesTodiramphus farquhari (Sharpe, 1899)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Todiramphus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Lazuli KingfisherTodiramphus lazuli (Temminck, 1830) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cinnamon-banded KingfisherTodiramphus australasia (Vieillot, 1818) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sombre KingfisherTodiramphus funebris Bonaparte, 1850 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Talaud KingfisherTodiramphus enigma (E. Hartert, 1904) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue-and-white KingfisherTodiramphus diops (Temminck, 1824) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Society KingfisherTodiramphus veneratus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rufous-lored KingfisherTodiramphus winchelli (Sharpe, 1877) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chattering KingfisherTodiramphus tutus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ultramarine KingfisherTodiramphus leucopygius (J. Verreaux, 1858) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue-black KingfisherTodiramphus nigrocyaneus (Wallace, 1862) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Niau KingfisherTodiramphus gertrudae Murphy, 1924 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pacific KingfisherTodiramphus sacer (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Todirhamphus farquhari (Sharpe, 1899) (Sharpe, 1899) | synonym |
| Halcyon farquhari Sharpe, 1899 Sharpe, 1899 | synonym |
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=692698 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:7CG6H. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.