This large kingfisher lives on Halmahera. Its dark back and white facial stripe stand out, and it catches small animals in forests and mangroves.
The head and upperparts are dark, with a white line above the eye continuing to the nape and white underparts. The bill is black with an ivory base to the lower mandible.
It uses primary and secondary forest as well as mangroves, and eats grasshoppers, centipedes, snakes, and lizards.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.