Green Kingfisher
Chloroceryle americana
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCoraciiformes (Rollers, Kingfishers, and Allies)
- FamilyAlcedinidae (Kingfishers)
- GenusChloroceryle (American Green Kingfishers)
- SpeciesChloroceryle americana (Green Kingfisher)
About the Green Kingfisher
The green kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) is a species of "water kingfisher" in the subfamily Cerylinae of the family Alcedinidae. It is found from southern Texas in the United States south through Central America, and in every mainland South American country except Chile.
The green kingfisher was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other kingfishers in the genus Alcedo and coined the binomial name Alcedo americana. Gmelin based his description on "Le martin-pêcheur vert et blanc" from Cayenne that had been described and illustrated in 1780 by the French polymath Comte de Buffon and also the "white and green kingfisher" that had been described in 1782 by the English ornithologist John Latham. The green kingfisher is now placed in the genus Chloroceryle that was introduced in 1848 by Johann Jakob Kaup.
A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2006 found that the green kingfisher is a sister species to the larger green-and-rufous kingfisher (C. inda). Five subspecies are recognized: Some populations of C. a. septentrionalis... Wikipedia →
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Green Kingfisher in Tikal National Park?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Green Kingfisher sighting in Tikal National Park, based on 52 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Green Kingfisher in Tikal National Park?
March has the highest sighting rate for Green Kingfisher in Tikal National Park in our monthly data.