With Brad out on assignment, I am hanging around the Intrigued HQ a little more than usual – watering the plants, making sure the pipes don’t freeze, keeping the butt prints off the copier, wiping down the escalator hand rails etc. – top level management duties for sure. Since I am in the office, might as well put the feet up on the desk and bang out a few posts. Linda just planned our spring trip to Texas, which has me in a Rio Grande Valley frame of mind. In the last post, we talked about the Clay-Colored Thrush and what turned out to be a rare sighting of the White-Throated Thrush at Estero Llano Grande State Park. Going back there for today’s featured feathered friend.
Hit the jump to read more about the Flying Bill with Eyes.
You might recognize the shape of this bird through reference to its more widespread cousin The Belted Kingfisher (link here). The Belted is pervasive throughout North American and down into Central America – breeding in the north, year round in the midsection and, of course, some beach days in the south to shake the cold out from the feathers. Without a side-by-side comparison the male Belted and our featured Green Kingfisher can look pretty similar. Dagger bill, crest, white stitching on the wings. They also have similar behaviors stalking bodies of water and hunting on the wing. Note, unlike the rest of the shots in this post, the one below was taken on the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campus.
There is however some key distinguishing characteristics that you can use in the field. First of all, the Green has a much narrower region. To have a chance of seeing them in the US, you really need to head down to Texas or the most southern parts of New Mexico and Arizona where they reside year round. Once you are in their overlapping range, you need to start thinking about size and color.
I realize size is relative, but in the case of the Green Kingfisher, if you see them at least once, you will quickly realize how small they are which will prepare you for any future encounters. Trust me, they are small, Steve Martin “Let’s Get Small” small
“Well, I’m gonna have to measure you. They’ve got a little test they give you; it’s a balloon, and if you can get inside of it, they know… you’re small”
Belteds range in the 11-13 inch length with a wingspan of around 20 inches. Greens top out at that low end length and only have a 10-11 inch wingspan.
This size disparity is most noticeable when looking at the head. The Belted’s bill feels a little big for the overall stature of the bird – field reference about the same length of the head profile, thick and sturdy. As you can tell from the shots here, the Green’s snoz is well over the width of the head. I have not done the research, however, I would guess the two bills are about the same length, the body of the Green just got put in the dryer. Now on to the more obvious distinction.
Pretty sure you already nailed this one – the male Belteds are slate blue layered over brilliant white with an actual “belt” of that blue running across the upper chest. The females are more colorful and have an added chestnut highlight along the sides and forms a secondary belt across the chest. The Green Kingfisher has a … wait for it … wait for it .. building suspense.. wait a little more – a forest GREEN coloring layered on a white foundation. A nod to the bird naming organization that got this one right. The females have a double green belt across the white chest – from my assessment, much more sparse than the very pronounced one on the Belteds. You might have been tempted to assume the color pattern differences between the male and the female Belted Kingfisher apply to the Green as well. You would be close in the sense that you can, indeed, tell the sexes apart by the additional chestnut coloring. However, the sexes are flipped for the Green – the males have the chestnut instead of the females and it covers a larger swath across the breast. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be fun ha.
There is one other feature I like to check, especially if they are far away which tends to mute colors. This is also useful for those with forms of color-blindness that makes it difficult to discern these color palettes. The Belteds have a “false eye”. There is a white (or lighter coloring for those unable to distinguish the specific color) spot just above the back of the bill. This spot often fools new birders – the solid black eye sits behind that spot and can easily disappear into the overall head coloring. I came up empty on my research to understand if there is a functional reason for this deceptive eye patch. My W.A.G at this point is some kind of light deflector similar to the black lines many of us donned in our days on the diamond (although in reverse in this case). Please put any thoughts you might have in the comments. Green Kingfishers will not have that feature.
The Green Kingfisher made its debut on the blog back in 2018 thanks to a chance encounter at South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center (link here). Ever since, I have found them quite regularly at Estero, the UTRGV campus and the best chances at Santa Ana NWR. They are not the easiest to get in the tin. Beyond being small, they tend to keep a good distance from humans and prefer to perch on the far side of the water. Their green coloring also allows them to blend in well with the habitat. If you are lucky, it will take flight and the white stitching will burst onto the scene. Bring your big glass, probably gonna need it.
Time to give the plants a drink and check in on the legal department – they are being too quiet and that makes me verrrrrry suspicious. Take care everyone and best of luck finding this precious green gem in the wild.
Life Intrigued 