Choiseul Island by Japanese forces in 1942. With the independence of the Solomon Islands in July 1978, Choiseul has been administered as part of Choiseul Province. The administrative headquarters of Choiseul Province is situated in the town of Taro. Choiseul Island Choiseul Island, native name Lauru, is the largest island () of the Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands, at . This island is named after Étienne François, duc de Choiseul. The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in April 1568. More precisely the sighting was due to a local voyage done by a small boat,
Malaita dwarf kingfisher to species status. At the same time the name of the variable dwarf kingfisher was changed to the Moluccan dwarf kingfisher. Malaita dwarf kingfisher The Malaita dwarf kingfisher ("Ceyx malaitae"), is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae that is endemic to Malaita Island. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. This species was formerly considered as one of the 15 recognised subspecies of what was then known as the variable dwarf kingfisher ("Ceyx lepidus" or "Alcedo lepidus"). A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2013 found that most of the insular subspecies had substantially diverged from