Belted Kingfisher
There are a lot of these kingfishers around Lake Apopka (and now I am seeing them all kinds of other wet places too), but they are very shy. I think I know them better by sound than sight at this point because I always hear them before I see them (and they always see me before I hear them!).
The belted kingfisher is a large, conspicuous water kingfisher, the only member of that group commonly found in the northern United States and Canada. It is depicted on the 1986 series Canadian $5 note. All kingfishers were formerly placed in one family, Alcedinidae, but recent research suggests that this should be divided into three. All six New World kingfishers, together with three Old World species, make up the new family Cerylidae.
Similar species: Kingfisher, Bee-eater, Rollers
By Meryl Green
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Uploaded Jan 25, 2015. Captured Oct 25, 2014 12:16 in Lake Apopka Loop Trail, Clermont, FL 34715, USA.
