A very common bird, always looking out from a high point along a waterway like a branch overhanging a river or from telephone or high tension wires along watercourses. It can hover and will dive from a great height (10 m) into the water , wings along the body, to catch a fish. Then it flies back to its vantage point to swallow the fish headdown. Breeding is done in a hole dug into a steep bank. Above first a picture made by Pascal Dubois made in French Guiane and then one made by Foek Chin Joe near Paramaribo in Suriname and below a photo from a video. At the bottom again one by Pacal Dubois and a photo of the resembling Belted Kingfisher.
Each small square indicates the observation of at least one (group) of these birds, the medium ones at least 4 observations on different days and the largest ones 10 or more. The color of each square indicates: blue for coastal area, yellow for savanna and red for rainforest.
Pascal Dubois made this picture of a Ringed Kingfisher in Guyane.
Photo of a female Belted Kingfisher, made by Greg Peterson on the island of Aruba in October 2009. This bird was reported from the coast of French Guyane in 2004 by Alexandre Renaudier and is also known from sight records in Guyana, so it might occur in Suriname.
| Distribution in Suriname (explanation) | |
| Coastal area |  |
| Savanna |  |
| Forests | |
| Mountain forests |  |
| Sipalawini savanna | |
Names in:
More pictures of kingfishers in Suriname
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