The forest kingfisher is native to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Australia, where it is found on or near the Australian Coastline from Port Stephens in New South Wales northwards to Cape York and westwards across the Top End.
It is a summer visitor in the southern parts of its range in New South Wales and southern Queensland; elsewhere it is resident all year round.
As its name suggests, it inhabits subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest and Melaleuca swampland.
