Yellow-billed Kingfisher

The yellow-billed kingfisher is 20 cm (7.9 in) long, with a wingspan of 29 cm (11 in), and it weighs 30–50 g (1.1–1.8 oz). Its orange colouring and yellow bill are distinctive; it has an orange head and neck with a black nape patch and white throat. Adult females also have a black crown patch. The upper mantle is blackish grading to olive green on the back, blue-green on rump and with a blue tail. The upperwing is dull green-blue with dark olive-black flight feathers. The underparts are pale orange-grey. The bill is orange-yellow in adults, dark grey in juveniles.

The yellow-billed kingfisher is widespread throughout lowland New Guinea and the adjacent islands, extending to northern Cape York Peninsula in Australia. It may be found in rainforest, monsoon forest and along forest edges.

The yellow-billed kingfisher is known to prey on large insects, earthworms, and small snakes and lizards. It perches in the low canopy, swaying from side to side, before swooping down to the ground to take its prey.