This large kingfisher lives in woodland and forest on the Aru Islands and southern New Guinea. It watches for prey from low branches.
Adult males and females look alike. The head is buff with black edging, the back and wings are black, and the rump is bright blue.
It uses riverside forest, monsoon forest, open woodland, scrub, and wooded savanna, spending much of its time in the understory.
It hunts alone or in small groups, watching from low perches before taking prey. Beetles, ants, and stick insects are among its main foods.
The nominate Aru form is darker below. The southern New Guinea subspecies archboldi has paler blue and buff upperparts and a mostly whitish underside.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.