Chattering kingfisher
The chattering kingfisher is a species of bird in the kingfisher family Alcedinidae.
The species is found in the Cook Islands and the Society Islands in French Polynesia.
Taxonomy
The chattering kingfisher was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with other kingfishers in the genus Alcedo and coined the binomial name Alcedo tuta. Gmelin based his description on the "respected kingfisher" that had been described in 1782 by the English ornithologist John [Latham (ornithologist)|John Latham] in his multi-volume A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham gave the locality as Otaheite but did not specify how he had access to a specimen. Latham noted that the Polynesians revered and protected kingfishers. The specimen would have been collected during either James Cook's second or third voyages to the Pacific Ocean. The society kingfisher is present on Tahiti but it is doubtful whether the chattering kingfisher ever occurred on the island in historical times. The chattering kingfisher is now one of 30 species placed in the genus Todiramphus that was introduced in 1827 by René Lesson. The word Todiramphus combines the genus name Todus with the Ancient Greek rhamphos meaning "bill". The specific epithet tutus is Latin meaning "revered".A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2015 found that the chattering kingfisher was closely related to two other species that are endemic to islands in eastern Polynesia: the Niau kingfisher and the society kingfisher.
Three subspecies are recognised:T. t. tutus – central Society Islands T. t. atiu – Atiu T. t. mauke – Mauke