Ringed Kingfisher Similar Species Comparison

Female (Northern)

Very large kingfisher with heavy bill and ragged crest. Females have a blue breast band and chestnut belly.

Adult male (Northern)

Very large kingfisher with heavy bill and ragged crest. Males are mostly chestnut below from breast through belly.

Hunts for fish from perches over freshwater. Often jerks the tail and head upwards while perched.

Female (Northern)

Very large, heavy-billed kingfisher. Females usually show a thin white band separating blue breast from chestnut belly.

Immature male (Northern)

Immatures usually show some female-like plumage including some blue feathering across breast.

Female

Females have a blue breast band and chestnut or rufous belly, separated by a narrow white border. Often jerks the tail and head upwards while perched.

Female (Northern)

In flight, females have extensive rufous under the wing and tail.

Female (Patagonian)

The subspecies that breeds in southern South America has a shorter bill and darker blue upperparts than the northern subspecies.

Large kingfisher with white collar, white spotting in wings and tail. Note chestnut extends all the way down the belly.

Female (Northern)

In flight, females show rufous or chestnut underwings and under the tail; in males these areas are white.