Amazon Kingfisher Chloroceryle amazona Scientific name definitions

The Amazon Kingfisher is a resident of lakeshores and large-slow flowing rivers from northern Mexico south to central Argentina. They are large dark bronzy green birds with a ragged crest, a white throat and collar, and a white belly; the breast of the male is rufous, while the female has a narrower green breastband. Amazon Kingfishers are superficially similar to the Green Kingfisher Chloroceryle americana, but are much larger with a heavier bill, and typically forage from more conspicuous perches. Amazon Kingfishers hunt fish and crustaceans from a perch, diving into the water to catch their prey and then returning to the same perch before stunning their prey and swallowing it head first. These kingfishers also occasionally hover above the water before diving to catch prey. The nests are excavated by making tunnels into road cuts or erosion gullies near water.

30 cm; male 98–121 g, female 125–140 g. Adult male dark bronzy green upperparts except for white collar and small white marks in front of and below eye (no white spot before eye in N populations); chin and throat white, separated from collar by narrow dark green line; breast rich rufous with dark green sides, belly white, flanks streaked with dark green; bill black, pale yellow under lower mandible; iris dark brown; legs and feet dark grey. Adult female like male, but white breast with bottle-green sides almost meeting in mid-line. Juvenile like female, but buff spots on upperwing-coverts, large yellow patch on bill, and male has rufous-buff breast.

Mexico (S Sinaloa and S Tamaulipas) and Belize S to Colombia and Venezuela, and S on E side of Andes to C Argentina (La Rioja, Buenos Aires).

Large slow-flowing or fast-flowing rivers with rapids and deep pools, also lakeshores and wooded lagoons; occasionally brackish lagoons, winding channels in mangroves and tidal estua-ries at coast. Most common in open habitats; 85–91% of observations in Colombia and Bolivia were from open shorelines, and 1–12% from pools slightly separated from main waterbody. Mainly below 1200 m, but to 2500 m in Venezuela.

Presumably sedentary, but occasional vagrants reported from Trinidad and there is a single record in USA, in S Texas in Jan/Feb 2010 (2 Howell, S. N. G., I. Lewington, and W. Russell (2014). Rare Birds of North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ).

Fish (Characidae), and crustaceans (Penaeus aztecus). Hunts from a perch , with occasional head-bobbing or tail-jerking, and dives into water for prey; on returning , beats the fish against perch before swallowing  it head first. Occasionally hovers over open water, searching for prey, before diving down. Most hunting activity in morning and late afternoon, but may continue after sunset. Detailed study in Colombia and Bolivia showed preferred perches were in sparsely (31%) or densely foliated (28%) trees, on snags with only 1 or 2 prominent bare branches (19%), and on leafless trees (15%); mean perch height was 5·1 m, and preferred prey was characid fish (81%) in length range 10–170 mm, most commonly 60–70 mm long when C. inda and C. aenea were present, and 10–50 mm in their absence.

Loud, harsh, repeated "tek" or "klek", staccato "chrit", given alone or rapidly repeated to become a rattle; also frog-like calls; greeting call or song or alarm to young an accelerating series of clear notes, rising in pitch, then decelerating and falling, "see see see...su su su su".

Lays in Jan–Mar in Costa Rica, in Feb–May in Honduras and Panama , and in May in Trinadad; 1 brood. Male courtship-feeds female, raises his wings above back as greeting. Nest  in riverbank, erosion gulley or road cutting, usually near water; both of pair excavate, tunnel inclines slightly, straight or bending, 1·2–1·6 m long, 8–10 cm in diameter, ending in nest-chamber 25 cm wide, 45 cm long and 16 cm high; nests may be reused for several consecutive years, particularly if dug into rocky banks. Clutch 3–4 eggs, replacement laid if first clutch lost; incubation by female at night, mainly by male during day, period 22 days; chick's eyes start to open at 5 days, fully open 2–3 days later, body feathers emerge from sheaths at 12–13 days, well feathered and crest visible at 20 days; young fed by both parents; nest becomes foul with faeces and food remains, and may be infested with flies and maggots; adults often emerge backwards from tunnel and tumble into water to bathe after feeding; young fledge at 29–30 days.

Not globally threatened. Widespread, and quite common in some localities. In Colombia and Bolivia, densities 0·95–5·6/km of shoreline at lakes, 0·8–4/km at streams, and 0·1–1/km at larger rivers.