| Blue-winged Kookaburra | |
|---|---|
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| Male | |
_-female.jpg) |
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| Female | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Halcyonidae |
| Genus: | Dacelo |
| Species: | D. leachii |
| Binomial name | |
| Dacelo leachii Vigors & Horsfield, 1826 |
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The Blue-winged Kookaburra, Dacelo leachii, is a very large species of kingfisher with a total length of around 40 cm. Compared to the related Laughing Kookaburra, it is smaller, lacks a dark mask, has more blue in the wing, and (usually) a light-coloured eye. 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 has a distribution from southern New Guinea and the moister parts of northern Australia, to southern Queensland across the Top End, and as far down the Western Australian coast as the Shark Bay area.
The scientific name commemorates the British zoologist William Elford Leach.
Widespread and common throughout its large range, the Blue-winged Kookaburra is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Gallery
 Male in captivity |
 Male at Adelaide Zoo |
References
- BirdLife International (2004). Dacelo leachii. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dacelo leachii |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Dacelo leachii |
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