Belted Kingfisher on a sign
Another kingfisher. I really wanted to (try to) get closer to this bird, but I took this photo standing with one foot in a hole I had just 'found', and was then hip deep in water, and I didn't dare try.
(Looking at the map when I geotagged it I understand much better why it was so wet there that day. It wasn't -just- the rainy season, there was likely an expansion of the river.)
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.
