Sangihe Lilac Kingfisher

The Sangihe lilac kingfisher is a forest kingfisher of the genus Cittura rather than a waterside fishing specialist. Its common name reflects the lilac colouring around the head, and its long straight bill is used to seize terrestrial invertebrates. It was historically treated as Cittura cyanotis sanghirensis, a subspecies of the Sulawesi lilac kingfisher, before IOC and Clements checklists recognised it as C. sanghirensis in 2022 (eBird taxonomy update; Wikipedia general account).

Current checklist treatment places the species in rainforest on Sangihe and Siau, northeast of Sulawesi, while the shorter Wikipedia account emphasises Sangihe lowlands. It hunts large insects from perches, watching the forest floor and low foliage before making a short descending flight to take prey. The sources opened do not document nest placement, clutch, incubation or exact measurements specifically enough for the split species, so older figures for the combined lilac-kingfisher complex are omitted (eBird taxonomy update; general species accounts).