Green Kingfisher

Chloroceryle americana Order: CORACIIFORMES Family: Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)
Green Kingfisher Breeding Male Portrait
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General

Green Kingfisher: Small kingfisher with dark green head, back, and wings, white chin and collar, rufous breast band, and white belly with black spots. Female lacks breast band.

Range and Habitat

Green Kingfisher: Uncommon and local in southern Texas; rare to casual in southeastern Arizona; has recently begun nesting locally in south Arizona, spreading north from Mexico. Preferred habitats include small, clear streams, quiet pools, and backwaters.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"tick-tick", "cheep"

Interesting Facts

 The Green Kingfisher was first described in 1788 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin, a German naturalist, botanist and entomologist.

 They are smaller than other kingfishers and lack blue-gray coloration.

 A group of green kingfishers are collectively known as a "clique" and a "concentration" of kingfishers.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Green Kingfisher

Related Birds

Green Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Lewis's Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Ringed Kingfisher
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Family
Species Chloroceryle americana
Length7.5 - 8.75 Inches
Wingspan12 Inches

Green Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher: Small kingfisher, dark green head, back, and wings, white chin, collar, rufous breast band, white belly with black spots. Black bill is long and straight. Legs and feet are gray. Feeds mostly on small fish taken in dives and aquatic insects, amphibians. Direct flight.

● Song: "tick-tick", "cheep"

● Foraging & Feeding: Green Kingfisher: Hunts from low perches along the edge of the water or from rocks in the water. Feeds primarily on small fish, insects, and amphibians taken by plunge diving.

● Breeding & nesting: Green Kingfisher: Three to six white eggs are laid in a nest made of grass and built in a burrow 2 to 3 feet deep, usually in a stream bank. Incubation ranges from 19 to 21 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Green Kingfisher: Belted and Ringed kingfishers are larger with blue-gray upperparts and head.

Flight Pattern

Rapid buzzing direct flight.
Green Kingfisher Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Green Kingfisher: Uncommon and local in southern Texas; rare to casual in southeastern Arizona; has recently begun nesting locally in south Arizona, spreading north from Mexico. Preferred habitats include small, clear streams, quiet pools, and backwaters.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationUncommon and local in southern Texas, Rare to casual in southeastern Arizona
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight1.3 Ounces