Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher
Any day now, the rainforests of the Daintree will resound of the arrival of the Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher Tanysiptera sylvia.
They are very punctual, arriving in the last week of October, first week of November, each year. The males industriously excavate upwardly climbing tunnels into terrestrial termite mounds and upon breaching the internal cavity, rely upon the resident colony of termites to congeal the inner wall of the would-be incubating chamber. The female kingfisher will reject the proposal unless the termites have played their part.
As we walk past these mounds over the summer months, kingfisher chicks can be heard inside calling for food. When they ultimately fledge, the parent birds return to PNG, leaving the abandoned juveniles in a state of distress. For about three weeks they hang around the nesting site, before heading off to New Guinea on their own; having never been before.