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Ringed Kingfisher
Ceryle torquata

DESCRIPTION:
Ringed Kingfisher
Martín Pescador Grande
Ceryle torquata
Length: 415 mm. Sexes unlike. Male: bill blackish grey with basal half of mandible whitish grey; iris dark brown; lores black, between ocular zone and base of bill there is a small white spot; upper parts and sides of head bluish grey with fine black streaks along rachis of feathers; feathers in nape and crown are long forming an erectile crest; chin, throat and neck white. Sides of upper breast, back and uppertail coverts bluish grey with white spots and bands on the longest scapulars, sides of rump and uppertail coverts. Rectrices black with bluish grey margins to feathers, fine barring and white terminal band. Breast, anterior flanks and upper abdomen reddish chestnut; posterior flanks, lower abdomen and undertail coverts entirely barred alternating bluish grey and white. Lesser and median wing coverts bluish grey with white mottling; greater coverts black with broad bluish grey margin and white bands; secondaries black with broad distal edges in bluish grey and thin white banding; when wing is folded the latter appear bluish grey; alula and greater coverts of primaries black; primaries black with white banding on inner vexillum; underwing coverts and axillaries white with bluish grey bands. Legs reddish
in the back and soles and dark brown at the front. The female is unlike the male in that it has a bluish grey breast with a white band that separates the grey from the reddish chestnut; posterior parts of flanks, abdomen, undertail coverts, axillaries and underwing coverts are entirely reddish chestnut; remainder of plumage as in male. Immature of both sexes resemble adult females but are duller overall; the upper parts of head show broader black streaks along rachis of feathers; in general all upper parts show black markings along rachis as well as white speckles; band in breast is brownish grey somewhat reddish to the centre and stained black; the white band that separates from the reddish chestnut is broader than in adults. Juvenile males differ from juvenile females by showing axillaries and some undertail coverts white with bluish grey bands. Habitat and behaviour: readily recognised by its striking coloration and its call, that recalls the sound of a wooden rattle; found solitary or in pairs; this species inhabits wooded riverbanks, streams, ponds and lakes. Ringed Kingfishers forage in their territory following the course of the rivers and the banks of water bodies flying rapidly and elegantly at various heights. Occasionally, as they travel long distances they do so at high altitudes. Upon human presence adults may be wary but the young allow to be approached at a short distance. They spend long hours perched on branches, logs, fences, and every now and then they utter their characteristic call. When on the alert or restless they frequently move the tail and head. These birds feed mainly on fish but also prey on crustaceans and other small animals. To fish they catapult from their perch or from the air after hovering, not too high above the water surface.
After plunging headlong, if the prey is captured, the bird flies back to the perch and smacks it dead against the branch, always taking the head of the fish first. The nest is made in steep earthy banks of rivers and other water bodies; occasionally far away from the water. Clutch size is between two to five white eggs laid directly on the ground without any lining, at the end of a deep tunnel that broadens to a chamber.
When the adults arrive back to the nest with captured food for the chicks, if any strangers are detected in the surroundings, they perch nearby and avoid flying directly to the nest so as not to give its location away. The authors have observed that if danger persists they swallow the caught fish even if the offspring are insistently claiming for food.
It is very unfortunate that this magnificent and beautiful bird, which inspires admiration in its natural environment, is being wiped off, cruelly killed by the owners of fish farms where salmonids are cultured, as the birds are drawn by the presence of the fish in the pools.
Range: distribution of the Ringed Kingfisher is throughout Argentina except in the high Andean region; it occurs in all South America up to Mexico. In northern Argentina the race Ceryle torquata torquata is found, whereas in Patagonia, from Neuquén and Río Negro to Tierra del Fuego, the race Ceryle torquata stellata is found. In winter, a part of the population of this race migrates northwards to La Pampa and Buenos Aires. This race also occurs in Chile, from the Chilean Tierra del Fuego to Concepción.
Illustrated Handbook of the Birds of Patagonia
Kindless: Kovacs Family
 
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Photographs: Mariano Diez Peña


Birding Patagonia • Birdwatcing in Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina and Chile.
All Rights reserved. Reproduction of photographs is forbidden without permission from the authors.
Photographs on the website: Mariano Diez Peña