| Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona (Latham, 1790)) |
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Scientific name: Chloroceryle amazona (Latham, 1790) Common name: Amazon Kingfisher French name: Martin-pêcheur d'Amazonie Order: Coraciiformes Family: Cerylidae Size: Body size: 29-30 cm; Weight: 110 g. Habitat: Broad and calm rivers and lagoons bordered by trees. Food: Fishes but also a few shrimps. Nesting: The nest is a burrow excavated in a vertical bank. It consists of one chamber located at the extremity of tunnel which can reach 1.6 metre long. There are 3 to 4 eggs per brood. Migration: Sedentary. Geographic area: Central America and South America, from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. Missing in the West Indies. |
The Amazon Kingfisher is one of the largest kingfisher species of the new world. It has a large crested head with a short tail. Males have a dark green metallic head and upper parts. There is a small white spot ahead of the eye and a broad white collar which becomes very thin at the back of the head. This collar is crossed by a thin green dotted line separating the throat and the moustache. The underside is white with a large chestnut patch on the chest. The flanks are marked with small green oval-shaped spots on a white ground colour. Females have completely white chest and under parts. The Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) is clearly a smaller size. Its wings bear thin white stripes. |
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I have shot this picture during a boat tour on the marshes of Caw. |
André Bon January 2015