Kingfishers in Belize | Belize Budget Suites

Kingfishers - in Belize

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher - Stocky and large-headed with a shaggy crest. Bill is long, straight, thick, and pointed. Powder blue above with white underparts and blue breast band. Females have additional rusty band across belly. Almost always solitary, perched along edges of streams, lakes, and estuaries. Flies along rivers and shorelines giving loud rattling calls. Hunts for fish by plunging headfirst into the water, either directly from a perch or hovering.
BELIZE HABITAT - Roadside ditches and creeks, coastal lagoons, mangrove swamps, rice fields, power lines near water; avoids forested rivers and creeks.
Where can I find this bird in Belize?
Common winter visitor, primarily mid-August to late April; occasionally reported in May, June and July.

Ringed Kingfisher

Ringed Kingfisher - Largest kingfisher in Americas with exceptionally enormous bill and raucous calls. Blue-gray with shaggy crest, white collar, and rufous belly. Male and female similar, but note different breast pattern: entirely rufous on male, while female has blue-gray band bordered by white. Often conspicuous, searching shallow water for fish from a prominent perch and chattering noisily when disturbed. Singles or pairs are also often observed flying high overhead and giving loud "keck" calls. Nests in burrows excavated in banks, generally along watercourses.
BELIZE HABITAT - Widespread; found in open areas with Belted, as well as forested streams, swamps, and rivers; flies high over large open areas, revealing its presence with its occasional loud call.
Where can I find this bird in Belize?
Fiarly common to common resident on mainland; occasionally seen on Ambergris Caye.

Amazon Kingfisher

Amazon Kingfisher - Medium-sized kingfisher of tropical lowlands. Found singly or in pairs, along rivers and at the edges of ponds and lakes, often perched on wires or bare snags. Mainly flies low over the water. Size similar to Belted Kingfisher, but black bill much more massive and crest more tufted. Also differs from Belted in its dark oily-green head and upper parts. Green Kingfisher is much smaller with bold white spots and bars on the wings.
BELIZE HABITAT - Primarily forested rivers, streams, and lagoons, but occasionally in open areas such as edges of rice fields, roadside ditches.
Where can I find this bird in Belize?
Uncommon to fairly common resident north to central Orange Walk and central Belize, locally to north east Orange Walk and possibly Corozal; absent from cayes.

Green Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher - Small kingfisher with disproportionately long bill. Dark glossy green above with white throat, collar, and spots on wings. Tail often held cocked up. White outer tail feathers spotted with green conspicuous in flight. Male has rufous breast; female breast white with spotted green double-collar. Found along rivers or ponds. Less conspicuous than some other kingfishers, often perching on overhanging branches close to water's surface. Low flight with quick wingbeats.
BELIZE HABITAT - Wood-lined streams and rivers.
Where can I find this bird in Belize?
Fairly common to common resident on mainland, occasionally reported on Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker.