Tired of the weather yo-yo?  Let’s get tropical.

Here’s a southern hemisphere bird that ranges from Mexico to Argentina.  She closely resembles the belted kingfisher, is virtually the same size, and has the same hunting habits.

But she’s green.  Her genus is Chloroceryle whereas the belted kingfisher’s genus is Megaceryle.

Amazon kingfishers (Chloroceryle amazona) are sexually dimorphic and follow the dimorphism of most birds — the male is more colorful than the female.  This one is female.  The males have rust color on their breasts. Click here to see a male Amazon kingfisher.

Belted kingfishers are backwards — the males are less colorful while the females have rust color on their breasts.  Click here to see a male, and here for a female.

This Amazon kingfisher was perched over water during Charlie Hickey’s fall trip to Costa Rica.  Click on his photo for a closer view of this tropical bird.

(photo by Charlie Hickey)