Green Kingfisher (us-RGV)
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Contents |
Regional Information
Range, Abundance, and Seasonal Variations
Green Kingfishers are uncommon year-round.
Directions and Maps
Watch for Green Kingfishers sitting on low perches over smaller bodies of water or on the edges of larger water bodies. It is often easily seen on the Rio Grande from a canoe or pontoon boat, and depending on water conditions it can be readily detected at Frontera Audubon Center, Santa Ana NWR and other sites.
General Information
Size
Length: 19cm (??in), Wingspan: ??cm (??in), Weight: 27g.
Field Marks
Long, stout bill, short tail, green crest, white throat and collar, oily green upperparts with white spotting. White belly and undertail coverts with dark spots. Male: White underparts apart from a broad chestnut breast band and some green spotting on the flanks. . Female: Buff-white underparts with two green chest bands, the lower of which links to the green spotting along the sides of the belly. C. a. croteta which occurs on Trinidad and Tobago has a larger and heavier bill than the mainland forms.
Similar species
Smaller than other kingfishers and lacks blue-gray coloration.
Sounds
These birds often give a pebbly rattling call in a series of two or three tap bursts, likened to morse code (tap tap, tap tap tap, tap tap)
Feeding & Behavior
Often seen perched on a low shaded branch close to water before plunging in head first after their fish prey. They also eat aquatic insects.
Habitat & Nesting
Breeds by streams in forests or mangroves. The nest is in a horizontal tunnel up to a metre long made in a river bank. The female lays three, sometimes four, eggs.
Range
Resident breeding bird which occurs from southern Texas in the USA south through Central and South Americal to central Argentina. United States range restricted to southern Texas.
Resources
