Retired CPO wrote:
Thank you. But I still have questions. Does the bill not look oversized to you? It does to me. And I think the breast band is green and red, not red and blue. And there is no red on the belly as there would be in a female.
I use the same reference books and a couple more sometimes.
I'm not arguing with you, just asking questions.
You are correct about the greenish cast on the breast band, and also the top of the head. The lighting on the bird is very poor. You may also notice that the belly has a yellowish cast to it, and it should be totally white. I think the green we are seeing is either due to the lighting, the post processing or even a slight color variation.
Last year there was a yellow Northern Cardinal that was seen. There are some House Finches that normally are red, are yellow.
The male doesn't have a belly band. So this would be a male juvie.
Another way of looking at this is, there have only been four species of kingfishers seen the the ABA area:
Belted, Green, Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers. The Green has wing bars and is seen in Texas and the southern tip of SE Arizona. The Ringed has a totally rufous belly and is seen in Texas. The Amazon has only been seen in Texas (I think two but could be three records), and is green. The Belted winters in Florida and is very common. So if a kingfisher is seen in Florida, the chances that it is not a Belted Kingfisher is very highly unlikely.
Retired CPO wrote:
I know what you mean, Hereford. I'm a long ways from an expert on Kingfishers, I have to rely on reference books. This guy doesn't look like anything in my reference books, but some think it's a juvenile something. I'm going to keep an eye out for him and see if he changes color through the season. My main contention is that whatever he is, he has a huge beak compared to the photos I've seen. Maybe by Winter, if he hangs around that long, I'll be able to get an updated photo and every one will be happy.
img src="https://static.uglyhedgehog.com/images/s... (
show quote)
I'm not sure what constitutes an expert. However, I've been birding for over 20 years, and have seen over 300 kingfishers. This is not a "blended kingfisher." Both the male and female Belted Kingfishers have slate blue breastbands and white bellies. The female has a rust belly band. Juveniles resemble the adults but have rust spotting in the (blue), breastbands.
This bird is typical example of a juvenile Belted Kingfisher.
Sibley's Guide to Birds, and National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America can support the above statement.
Retired CPO wrote:
This has been identified as a Ringed Kingfisher variant. Maybe so, I'm not sure.
This is not a Ringed Kingfisher. Ringed Kingfishers are huge (bigger than a Fish Crow), have a rufous breast, and there has never been one documented in Florida. The bill is much larger on the Ringed than on the Belted. The range for the Ringed Kingfisher is the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas and Mexico. Occasionally it is seen north of that, but still in the southern half of Texas. This is a typical juvenile Belted Kingfisher. Belted Kingfishers over winter in Florida and are quite common there.
Ringed Kingfisher
Fotoartist wrote:
You have a great backyard.
I've seen 35 species of butterflies in my yard.
Backyard Butterflies
Black Swallowtail
Black Swallowtail
Cloudless Sulphur
Giant Swallowtail
Monk Skipper
White Peacock
Female Cloudless Sulphur laying egg
lamiaceae wrote:
I did a little checking thru my dozen or so bird guides. There seem to be only three species of Kingfishers in the North American Continent and a couple more that may occur in Mexico, so that does not give you a lot of choices. And with a Florida location probably one. I too would say a young female Belted Kingfisher. Ceryle alcyon.
Actually, four species of Kingfishers have been seen in the ABA area (birding North America). The fourth, the Amazon Kingfisher has only been seen twice.
This is a Juvenile Belted Kingfisher. In many species of birds the juvenile male and female look alike, as in this case.
Like others have said it's a juvie Northern Mockingbird. Thrushes don't have wingbars, which this bird has.
Photogirl17 wrote:
"Butterflies and Moths"
Don't see any Monarchs here. Top pic has Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. Second pic Eastern Tiger Swallow tails and a Spicebush Swallowtail. Last pic is a Comma.
Mournful Sphinx Moth (Enyo lugubris), in the yard last night.
Nikon D500, 300mm lens, with flash.
dane004 wrote:
In Wyoming I could agree with Mormon How ever this buttery fly does have a white or silver fringe.
Mormon Frits have a white fringe.
levinton wrote:
Interesting id, if true.
Why do you find it so interesting?