Green Kingfisher

Chloroceryle americana (Gmelin, JF, 1788)

Green Kingfisher, Chloroceryle americana, breeds from south-west USA through Middle America to northern Argentina. It is a kingfisher of wooded banks beside streams, ponds and lakes, and it prefers still or slow water with low vegetation for hunting perches. The bird is a year-round resident across its range. It is a green-backed species with a long, heavy bill and no obvious crest, and the tail shows much white on the outer feathers in flight. Adult males and females differ in the pattern on the underparts, and juveniles are duller than females.

Order

Coraciiformes

Family

Alcedinidae — Kingfishers

Breeding range

North America, Middle America, South America: sw USA to n Argentina