Bird name:

Ringed Kingfisher

Ceryle torquatus

Order

CORACIIFORMES

Family

Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)

Code 4

RIKI

Code 6

CERTOR

ITIS

692718

Breeding Location:

Lakes, Rivers

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Uncommon and local, Widespread in the American tropics.

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

3 - 6

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Twigs, grasses.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Ringed Kingfisher: Large kingfisher with blue-gray upperparts, rufous underparts, white undertail coverts, blue-gray head with ragged crest, long heavy black bill, and white chin extending into a white collar. The female looks similar except she has a broad gray breast band above the rufous belly rather than the all rufous underparts of the male.

Range and Habitat

Ringed Kingfisher: Uncommon and local but increasing its range in southeast Texas; widespread in the American tropics. Found along larger rivers, lakes, and lagoons.

Breeding and Nesting

Ringed Kingfisher: Three to six white eggs are laid in a nest made of twigs and grass, built at the end of a bank tunnel dug by the parents, sometimes far from water. Eggs are incubated for 20 days by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Ringed Kingfisher: Eats mostly fish, but also takes amphibians, reptiles, and insects; hunts from a perch or hovers over water, plunge diving to capture prey.

Vocalization

Ringed Kingfisher: Song is a drawling, low-pitched, harsh, and clattering rattle; call is loud "cla-ak."

Similar Species

Ringed Kingfisher: Belted Kingfisher is smaller and lacks rust-brown belly.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Undertail coverts

Small feathers that cover the areas where the retrices (tail feathers) attach to the rump.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Chin

The area of the face just below the bill.

Collar

Similar to the upper part of the human neck, located at the back of the crown.

Crest

Tufts of feathers on the head of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America