Current view: Data table and detailed info
Taxonomic note
Actenoides bougainvillei and A. excelsus (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as A. bougainvillei following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993); now lumped again as A. bougainvillei. Dutson (2011) indicated that excelsus might be a separate species, but that the male is unknown. The type, AMNH 225084, is however highly distinctive and a precautionary position would be to accept that it is typical, in which case female excelsus differs from female bougainvillei in black moustachial and postocular line, latter forming much broader hindcollar (3); shorter rufous ‘cape’ on mantle below hindcollar (15 mm vs 24 mm in AMNH 640163) (ns [2]); black to greenish-black mantle, wing-coverts and wings vs greenish-rufous mantle and tertials and deep blue wings (4); flecks of electric blue-white down blackish rump vs broad electric turquoise line down royal blue rump (3); underparts rufous-tinged buff vs rufous (ns[2]); bill and feet orange (label data: R.H. Beck) vs ‘Chinese red’ (label data: A.H. Meek) (ns[2]). The form excelsus was described by Mayr (1941), who noted that it differed ‘in many respects’ from bougainvillei; indeed, ‘the differences in the color of the back are so striking that further material might make it necessary to consider this form a full species’. Label data indicate ‘Guadalcanal, July 26 1927’; iris brown, sexual organs small. Mayr (1941) added that it was found ‘at 4000 feet, inland from Cape Hunter, at the south shore of Guadalcanar Island’. But now the situation has changed: AMNH collected the first known male in 2015, and it is remarkably similar to A. bougainvillei after all. We consider that for now the best solution is to once again treat excelsus as a subspecies of A. bougainvillei. May provide a link between Actenoides and Tanysiptera. Two subspecies recognised.
Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2022. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
| Migratory status |
not a migrant |
Forest dependency |
high |
| Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: The total population of this species has not previously been estimated. On Guadalcanal, at a site above Betilonga, calls of this species were heard from up to six locations from a camp at 1,500 m, but some calls might have been from the same individuals, and much forest at this altitude was assessed as unsuitable for this species (G. Dutson in litt. 1998). Fifteen kilometres away, an area of approximately 1 km² was subject to intensive observational survey in 2015, and several calling individuals were detected. Along a 2 km transect along a ridge line from 1,200 to 1,500 m, an average of 4–6 individuals were heard calling at dusk and dawn. Based on these reports, an approximate species-specific density of 4–8 mature individuals/km² is suggested.
Although occupancy in some areas is high, on Guadalcanal large areas of forested habitat appear unsuitable (G. Dutson in litt. 1998) while on Bougainville, recent visits in apparently suitable habitat proved unsuccessful in locating the species, including in a targeted search using playback. Across the two islands, an occupancy of 10–30% is considered likely.
Using remote sensing data, the total amount of suitable habitat on Bougainville and Guadalcanal is estimated at approximately 2,000 km² and 1,200 km², respectively. The population is therefore inferred to number ca 1,300–7,700 mature individuals, with a best estimate of 2,500–5,000.
Trend justification: There are no data on the population trend of this species. Remote sensing data indicate that across the two islands of occupancy, forest loss in this species’ range has been slow, equivalent to 3-5% over three generations (Global Forest Watch 2022, based on Hansen et al. 2013). Some of this adjustment may be attributable to landslides and other natural processes. Forest loss is however suspected to increase in the years ahead as the island of Bougainville re-opens to development after an extended period of secessionist conflict (Woxvold and Novera 2021). Moreover, invasive species including rats (Black Rat Rattus rattus, Pacific Rat R. exulans) and cats (Felis catus) have been recorded in montane forests up to 1,800 m on both islands (G. Dutson in litt. 2016, Woxvold and Novera 2021), which may impact the species further. On Guadalcanal, there are reports of exotic plants altering the forest understorey (F. Lambert in litt. 2019).
For these reasons, the population is precautionarily suspected to be declining, although this requires confirmation.
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Moustached Kingfisher Actenoides bougainvillei. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/moustached-kingfisher-actenoides-bougainvillei on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.
