These are found in Indonesia, New Guinea and coastal eastern and northern Australia from Cape York to the north coast of New South Wales. Their natural habitat is open forest with a patchy or sparse understorey but they have adapted well to our presence and are not uncommon here. You will see them in parks and gardens, near mangroves and beaches, often on power lines along roads or as a brilliant flash of iridescent blue when they pursue their prey. They share overlapping habitats with the Sacred Kingfisher which looks very similar, however these have a pale brownish body and patch before the eye and are a slightly metallic blue.
Their diet includes beetles, bugs, spiders, grasshoppers, insect larvae, small lizards, frogs and worms. These are pounced on from low branches or telegraph wires then there is a quick return flight to a perch where the prey is killed by bashing it against the branch.
The sexes are almost identical with the only difference being an incomplete white collar on the female, breeding is from September to February in nests created in tree cavities, earth banks or often in termite nests in trees, young from the previous season help in incubating the eggs and feeding the young.