From Opus

Male
Photo by Douglas Bolt
Peru, Amazon River, July 2004

Chloroceryle amazona

[edit] Identification

Length 29-30 cm, weight 110g.
Upperside is green except for a white collar around the neck. Underside mostly white with green flank streaks. The male has a rufous band across the upper breast.

[edit] Confusion Species

The similar Green Kingfisher is much smaller and has more extensive white on wings^[4].

Female
Photo by juninho
Rio Pixaim, Pantanal, Brazil, September 2004

[edit] Distribution

From southern Mexico through Central America to northern Argentina; in South America only found east of the Andes and other lowlands of Colombia. ^[2],[3]

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[2].

Two subspecies are recognised by some authors: C. a. amazona and C. a. mexicana⁵

[edit] Habitat

Mostly by slow-moving water.

[edit] Behaviour

They perch on a branch or rock near to water before plunge-diving for their fish prey. They are the most likely green kingfisher to be seen on large rivers.¹

Photo by oderson
SItumbiara-GO Brasil, September 2008

[edit] Breeding

It breeds beside streams. The nest is at the end of a horizontal tunnel made in a river bank, and up to 1.6 m long and 10 cm wide. The female lays three or four, white eggs.

[edit] Vocalisation

Call is variably described as teck, "tek", or "cack", with a hard quality, sometimes given alone at other times in series. The bird is able to sing in more musical notes.³

[edit] References

1. Wikipedia
2. Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
3. Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156
4. Thread in Id forum on Green versus Amazon Kingfisher

[edit] External Links

• Arthur Grosset's Birds