Ringed Kingfisher

The Ringed Kingfisher is the largest kingfisher found in the Americas, a powerful, crow-sized bird with a massive bill built for catching sizable fish. Both sexes share a shaggy blue-gray crest and upperparts, but unlike the smaller Belted Kingfisher, the Ringed Kingfisher's underparts are almost entirely rufous-chestnut. Females can be distinguished from males by a narrow blue-gray band across the upper breast, separating the white throat from the rufous belly, a band that males lack.

Key Field Marks

• Very large size, noticeably bigger than the Belted Kingfisher
• Massive, heavy bill
• Shaggy blue-gray crest and upperparts
• Underparts almost entirely rufous-chestnut in both sexes; females show a thin blue-gray breast band that males lack

Similar Species

• Belted Kingfisher is smaller with white, not rufous, underparts aside from a colored breast band.
• Green Kingfisher is much smaller with dark green, spotted upperparts rather than blue-gray.

Habitat

Ringed Kingfishers favor large rivers, lakes, and estuaries, generally larger bodies of water than those used by the Belted or Green Kingfisher.

Range

In the United States they occur locally along the lower Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, with a much larger range extending through Mexico, Central America, and South America to Tierra del Fuego.

Migration

The species is largely nonmigratory, remaining resident year-round within its range.

Behavior

Ringed Kingfishers are powerful, often solitary fliers, typically seen perched on high branches or wires overlooking open water, or flying with strong, direct wingbeats along rivers.

Voice

The call is a loud, harsh rattle, similar in style to but noticeably louder and lower-pitched than that of the Belted Kingfisher.

Feeding

They hunt by watching from a high perch or hovering over open water before plunge-diving to catch fish, which make up virtually their entire diet.

Nesting

Like other kingfishers, Ringed Kingfishers excavate a long burrow into an earthen bank near water, where the female lays her eggs at the end of the tunnel.