Spangled kookaburra

The spangled kookaburra (Dacelo tyro), also called the Aru giant kingfisher, is a species of kookaburra found in the Aru Islands, Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands of southern New Guinea. Little is known of its family life or breeding biology.

Spangled kookaburra
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Alcedinidae
Subfamily:	Halcyoninae
Genus:	Dacelo
Species:	D. tyro
Binomial name
Dacelo tyro Gray, 1858
Subspecies[2]
D. t. archboldi - (Rand, 1938) D. t. tyro - Gray, GR, 1858

Taxonomy

Two subspecies are recognised:^[3]

• D. t. tyro – Aru Islands, Indonesia
• D. t. archboldi – New Guinea

Description

The spangled kookaburra grows to 33 cm (13 in) in length, with females growing slightly larger than males.^[4] It has bright blue wings and tail, a white chest and belly, dark eyes, and a black head with white spots. The upper mandible is dark grey whilst the lower mandible is white. The species has no sexual dimorphism - males and females look alike.^[3]