Amazon Kingfisher
Chloroceryle amazona
About This Species
Watch for this large green-and-white kingfisher perched motionless on low branches or snags overhanging rivers, lakes and mangroves throughout Central and South America. It hunts by watching the water from a fixed perch before plunging in to catch fish, so a slow boat trip or riverside walk at dawn often produces good views. Its loud, harsh rattling call is frequently heard before the bird itself is spotted.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Stay back from the perch it is using and avoid loud noise or sudden movement on the water, since repeated disturbance can push a hunting kingfisher off its favoured spot.
- Wildlife protection rules along its range span many countries with differing enforcement, so treat any specific distance as a guideline rather than a legal figure.
- Viewing from a boat or bank without approaching the perch directly usually gives the best and least disruptive view.
LCAvesCoraciiformesAlcedinidae
Seasonal Activity
227,072 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.