FAMILY ALCEDINIDAE 435 



individuals are somewhat more spotted on the lower back and rump 

 than adults. 



Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama south through Colombia and 

 Venezuela to Ecuador, Mato Grosso, and Amazonas, Brazil. 



CHLOROCERYLE AENEA (Pallas): Pygmy Kingfisher, 

 Martin Pescador Enano 



Smallest of the American kingfishers. 



Description. — Length 130-135 mm. Male, upper surface, including 

 wings and tail, dark metallic green, usually darker on the crown; 

 feathers of back and scapulars with the concealed bases white; an 

 indistinct white spot on the lower eyelid; a narrow streak above 

 lores ; front and sides of neck, edge of wing, and under wing coverts 

 light tawny-orange ; breast and sides rufous-chestnut ; abdomen, 

 under tail coverts, and under wing coverts white; inner webs of 

 primaries and secondaries edged with buffy white; three bands of 

 white or buffy white spots on the distal half of the secondaries (in 

 many these spots are reduced or absent) ; concealed base of tail white; 

 inner webs of rectrices (except the central pair) spotted with white. 



Female, similar to male but with a broad band of greenish black 

 tipped lightly with buff or white across the breast. 



Immature, brown of foreneck paler than in the adult female ; the 

 dark breastband narrower, more or less broken in the center. 



These birds, of small sparrow size, are forest kingfishers that 

 live regularly in mangrove swamps. Less often I have encountered 

 them in the lower hills in forests along quebradas, but not far inland. 

 It is their habit to rest on low perches, where, if they are not actually 

 hidden, their dark colors render them inconspicuous in the heavy 

 shadows that are their haunts. At intervals they twitch the tail and 

 nod the head like the green kingfisher, a movement that may attract 

 the eye. Usually when seen they are near at hand. Their food is 

 minnows and aquatic insects. The usual note is a clicking sound, 

 barely audible, accompanied by a flick of the tail. Less often they 

 utter chattering or chirping calls that are more musical. 



As a species these kingfishers range from southern Oaxaca and 

 Veracruz through Middle America to Colombia, Venezuela, and 

 Trinidad, and from there southward to western Ecuador, northern 

 Bolivia (Rio Beni), and southern Brazil (Mato Grosso and Sao 

 Paulo). Two geographic races are recognized from Panama. 



