This kingfisher is endemic to Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. It occurs at forest edges and mangroves and excavates a nest burrow in rotten wood.
It has a rufous crown, a dark band from the face around the hindneck, blue-green mantle, wings and tail, and a white lower face and underside. In females, the rufous breast is sharply separated from the white belly.
On Pohnpei it uses mangrove edges, lowland forest, and modified areas that retain trees. It nests in a burrow excavated in rotten wood.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.