Ceyx rufidorsa rufidorsa

Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia

After the Blue-eared Kingfisher from a couple of weeks back I thought I will continue with another tiny and unbelievably cute kingfisher - the Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher. A luminous ball of pink, orange, yellow, and varying amounts of blue and purple with a brightly-coloured back distinguishing it from the closely related Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher. The Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher forages in shaded patches of dense vegetation, in mangroves, overgrown edge, or deep lowland and foothill forest and it is often near shallow forest streams and small pools which is where I encountered it in Hulu Langat. 

Kingfishers or Alcedinidae are a family of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The family contains 114 species and is divided into three subfamilies and 19 genera.

All kingfishers have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright plumage with only small differences between the sexes. The kingfishers have a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring throughout the world's tropical and temperate regions. They are absent from the polar regions and some of the world's driest deserts. A number of species have reached islands groups, particularly those in the south and east Pacific Ocean. Most species are tropical in distribution, and a slight majority are found only in forests. They consume a wide range of prey usually caught by swooping down from a perch. While kingfishers are usually thought to live near rivers and eat fish, many species live away from water and eat small invertebrates. Like other members of their order, they nest in cavities, usually tunnels dug into the natural or artificial banks in the ground. Some kingfishers nest in arboreal termite nests.

A number of species are considered threatened by human activities and are in danger of extinction. The majority of these are forest species with limited distribution, particularly insular species. They are threatened by habitat loss caused by forest clearance or degradation and in some cases by introduced species.

Kingfishers are generally shy birds, but in spite of this, they feature heavily in human culture, generally due to the large head supporting its powerful mouth, their bright plumage, or some species' interesting behavior. For the Dusun people of Borneo, the Oriental dwarf kingfisher is considered a bad omen, and warriors who see one on the way to battle should return home. Another Bornean tribe considers the Banded kingfisher an omen bird, albeit generally a good omen.

I have been able to photograph a few of these beautiful kingfishers from all across Asia Pacific with some coming quite easily and some coming after waiting for hours, damp and cold but worth every bit the wait. Read about some of the kingfishers I have already written about.

Today is about probably the best looking kingfisher I have encountered till date - the Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher. But first a little bit about the fascinating habitats these birds frequent.

Hulu Langat

Hulu Langat District is a district located in the southeastern corner of Selangor, between Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan. It is the fifth largest district in Selangor State with an area of 840 km², the second most populous and the second most densely populated district with approximately 1688 people per km². It has a mix of urban and rural settlements with a majority of the population settling in towns near the capital Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia’s location on the Australasian cross-migratory paths also makes it a host to 120 or so migratory birds. With over 600 species to be seen in the Peninsula and about 580 species in Malaysian Borneo, it is no wonder Malaysia has emerged as a bird watching haven.

Peninsular Malaysia is a great place for birding and offers several options in and around Kuala Lumpur like the reserve forest of Hulu Langat which is probably one of the closest to KL and an extremely fruitful location. I was amazed by the number of species I saw in this little strip of hot, humid rainforest including the profusion of species at mid-day. Truly a spectacular little gem within easy access from the bustling capital. In the forest a flowing stream serves as the perfect studio for the Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher. The nearby Gunung Huang Reserve Forest is home to some spectacular broadbills like the Black and Yellow Broadbill and the Black and Red Broadbill, two of seven broadbill species found in peninsular Malaysia. Read about some of the Broadbills I have written about below.

It was a fantastic trip and I even managed to photograph Malaysia’s tiniest raptor - the Black-thighed Falconet. I will write about that sometime soon but for now let’s get back to our spectacular little kingfisher.

Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx rufidorsa rufidorsa)

The Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx rufidorsa rufidorsa) is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family. It is found in Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand in tropical lowland forests near lakeshores and streamsides. The small bird is solitary and hunts from a low perch over the water by diving for insects and frogs. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher.

This tiny but eye-popping kingfisher is a resident of Sundaic rainforests. Few birds match its audacious coloration: it is bright rufous above and deep chrome yellow below, highlighted by electric lilac purple in the crown and rump and a white patch on the side of the neck. This splash of color is further accented by a large bright coral-red bill and tiny coral-red three-toed feet. It truly glows in these dark forest understories.

Some individuals and populations, particularly in northeastern Borneo, show even more color, with variable amounts of bright-blue highlights in the wings. These birds can appear very similar to the closely related Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca), which is sometimes considered conspecific with Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher under the name "Oriental Dwarf-Kingfisher." Despite plumage similarities and reports of birds that seem to be intermediate between the two species, genetic studies have supported their status as separate species. The Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, also known as the Black-backed Kingfisher or Three-toed Kingfisher, is a pocket-sized bird in the family Alcedinidae. This tropical kingfisher is a partial migrant that is endemic across much of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It resides in lowland forests, typically near streams or ponds, where it feeds upon insects, spiders, worms, crabs, fish, frogs, and lizards. This small bird is easily distinguishable from other birds in its range due to its red bill, yellow-orange underparts, lilac-rufous upperparts, and blue-black back.

The Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher is a shy species, most likely to be encountered flying rapidly through the forest giving high-pitched calls. Despite the "kingfisher" name, it is not always associated with water and frequently forages on terrestrial prey. It is the only small, forest kingfisher that is reddish in overall coloration in parts of its range. The upper parts have variable amounts of blue in the wing and on the head, but it never has a blue back.

The typical Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher of nominate subspecies is the only small reddish kingfisher in its range.

Intermediate-looking birds and the restricted-range C. r. captus share partially blue-black wing-coverts and supraocular patches of the wintering Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca), which overlaps largely in the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Sumatra in winter. but they lack the bright blue back of that species. C. r. motleyi could possibly overlap with vagrant Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher and is also best separated by the color on the back.

There is a considerable variation in the amount of blue on forehead, supraocular area and wing-coverts, recalling Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher, across its range. Birds with noticeable blue parts have long been regarded as hybrid swarms between Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher and Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher and frequently outnumber both ‘parental types’. However, based on genetic analysis it is more appropriate to regard them as variations within Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher and the blue-black coloration is likely dominant plumage traits from hybridization in the distant past. Specimens from Java tend to be slightly smaller. Isolated populations also seem to have independently evolved to exhibit more blue in the wing but blue on the back is always lacking, with static populations recognized as three valid subspecies. Birds in Sabah, Borneo, have well-defined blue spotting on blacking wing, blue patches above white ear-coverts and forehead. Some birds in Brunei and Labuan exhibit intermediate characters between Sabah and the typical rufous-winged birds. Both forms also occur alongside one another in East Kalimantan. Birds from Mindoro, Philippines, are said to resemble Sabah birds with reduced lilac wash on upperparts and less blue in the wing.

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