Moustached Kingfisher Actenoides bougainvillei Scientific name definitions

Known from just two islands in the Solomons Archipelago, the Moustached Kingfisher is a very unobtrusive and infrequently observed species, in part because it is largely restricted to difficult-to-access, old-growth montane habitats, and furthermore the island of Bougainville has been politically unstable since 1990, effectively curtailing visits by ornithologists. The species should prove unmistakable if seen at all well, it being a large, orange-and-blue forest kingfisher, with a long red bill and distinctive markings on the head. Moustached Kingfisher is extremely unobtrusive, little known, and is considered to be probably crepuscular, perhaps even partially nocturnal; the best clue to its presence are its loud, clear calls, but these are regularly heard only close to dusk or around dawn. Geographical variation between the two islands is still incompletely known, with very few specimens available, especially from Guadalcanal, where most upland areas have not yet been surveyed, but some ornithologists have speculated that different species are involved on each.