Blue-winged Kookaburra
Overview
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.
The Blue-winged Kookaburra was first collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770, but was initially overlooked and confused with the Laughing Kookaburra, and was finally officially described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors
and Thomas Horsfield
in 1826, its specific name commemorating the British
zoologist William Elford Leach
.
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea.
Measuring around 40 cm (16 in), it is slightly smaller than the more familiar Laughing Kookaburra
Laughing Kookaburra
The Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae, is a carnivorous bird in the kingfisher family Halcyonidae. Native to eastern Australia, it has also been introduced to parts of New Zealand, Tasmania and Western Australia. Male and female adults are similar in plumage, which is predominantly brown and...
. 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
Rufous
Rufous is a colour that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron.The first recorded use of rufous as a colour name in English was in the year 1782....
tail with blackish bars in the female.
The Blue-winged Kookaburra was first collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770, but was initially overlooked and confused with the Laughing Kookaburra, and was finally officially described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors
Nicholas Aylward Vigors
Nicholas Aylward Vigors was an Irish zoologist and politician.Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford. He served in the army during the Peninsular War from 1809 to 1811. He then returned to Oxford, graduating with a B.A. in 1815 and in 1817 with an...
and Thomas Horsfield
Thomas Horsfield
Thomas Horsfield M. D. was an American physician and naturalist.Horsfield was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He was the grandson of Timothy Horsfield, Sr., a colonel and justice of the peace in Bethlehem, and a friend mentioned in Benjamin...
in 1826, its specific name commemorating the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
zoologist William Elford Leach
William Elford Leach
William Elford Leach FRS was an English zoologist and marine biologist.Leach was born at Hoe Gate, Plymouth, the son of a solicitor. At the age of twelve he went to school in Exeter, studying anatomy and chemistry. By this time he was already collecting marine samples from Plymouth Sound and along...
.
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